


Breaking Alex into Pieces

by Newjug



Series: Breaking Alex [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Project Cadmus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2020-01-20
Packaged: 2020-07-31 02:23:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 33,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20107618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Newjug/pseuds/Newjug
Summary: Five months after the defeat of Reign, Alex Danvers is attacked and severely beaten near the alien bar by a familiar figure. Heartbroken, she along with Kara, Maggie and J'onn must fight against a resurrected Cadmus to bring him back again.





	1. Urgent Matters

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on an orchestral piece that I wrote inspired by Alex’s character (and listening to it may give you a better interpretation of the emotions during the chapters and how they are). It’s pretty much canon up to the end of S3, with the slight changes that Winn didn’t join the Legion, J’onn still works as co-director of the DEO, and Alex and Maggie are back together about a month or so after defeating Reign, when Maggie changed her mind about having kids. The story takes place about five months after defeating her. I haven’t watched Season 4 yet, and even though I had a general idea of what happened, I don’t want to be incorrect with what went on. Times are marked for what to listen to for each chapter too. Thanks for reading!

Pajama-clad and popcorn on their laps, the Danvers sisters were enjoying their typical movie night watching _A Walk to Remember_, Kara's newfound favorite movie. Alex grumbled when Kara got teary-eyed at the sad scenes, and drank more in response. It was Kara's turn to pick the movie, and of course she had to choose something romantic rather than Alex's preferred thriller genre. She was laying on the couch, Alex wrapped around her half-asleep.

**10:52 PM**

**J'onn: ** _Come to the DEO ASAP. Urgent. _

**J'onn: ** _Leave Alex out of this one._

Kara sat up carefully to read the messages, not to disturb her sister.

**Kara: ** _Is everything alright?_

**J'onn:** _I'll explain when you get here. Just don't tell her right now Kara. I already texted Maggie to bring her home._

As if on cue, a knock on Kara's door caused Alex to get up groggily.

"Hey Danvers. Thought I'd pick you up on my way home from work. Kara told me you were already asleep and pretty drunk." She smiled. Maggie had taken a few months to realize that she could see herself as a mom. Many of her friends at the precinct were already married and had children, whom once she watched some of them a handful of times, realized she did crave a part of herself in her life. That she wants _Alex _and a mini-_her_. One they could teach to be a badass, how to be loving and caring, but tough. She had a heart-to-heart talk with her and while they did have to settle disagreements, they were the one for each other. It took some time and they'd take everything slow, making sure they talked about each and every one of their differences before getting back to where they had been.

"I'm not tha-"

"You've said two words and you're slurring them."

"In my defense Kara chose another sappy love story gone wrong movie." Alex rubbed her eyes and looked guilty.

"Hey!" Kara shot her a look.

"Plus I was just going to crash here."

"Change of plans. Come on. Go get your stuff and I promise you this will put you out of your movie-watching torture."

Alex looked defeated and slowly walked into Kara's bathroom to change into her normal clothes.

"Kar, any idea what's going on? Or why J'onn texted me this?" Maggie held her phone up showing the martian's text. All it said was: _Take Alex home ASAP. I need Kara right now._

"No idea. I thought maybe you'd know. I'll keep you updated though." Kara smiled as Alex held her purse and went to hug her girlfriend.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Hell yeah, because I love you and you're my little sist-"

"Okay Alex go sleep that off."

"And we work together! Isn't it awesome having your sister work with you?"

Kara laughed at Alex as Maggie turned her around and guided her out. She mouthed _see you soon_ and motioned for Kara to call her when she knew what was up.

Curious as to why Alex couldn't come, she had worry on her mind.

As Alex walked out the door, Kara listened to her heartbeat. _Normal. Safe._ When the door closed, she went on her way to see why J'onn needed her now.

"Supergirl." J'onn greeted her at the door and seemed off. He was somber and Kara knew there was no time to ask how he was or what happened. She would get the answer soon enough.

As she walked past Winn, he gave her a sympathetic look. Something wasn't right.

"J'onn, what's going on?"

"Does Alex know you're here?"

"No. We were having movie night and she was drunk and Maggie took her home. She doesn't even know I'm here."

He sighed.

"It's Jeremiah. He's been found and it's not good."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapters will get longer! If you read some of my notes that don't make sense, it's because this is cross-posted to FFN too (I didn't know that you needed to wait for an invitation for AO3)


	2. Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> J’onn briefs Kara on a potential threat. Making sure Alex doesn’t know anything, he and Kara know that it’s a battle everyone has to be prepared for.

"It's Jeremiah. He's been found and it's not good."

Kara looked at him baffled. What was he talking about? Alex had told her that right before the ship took off, he redeemed himself, helped fight off the guards and helped stop the spaceship that would deport the entire alien population.

J'onn took a deep breath. "He's in some sort of state. We haven't made contact yet, but we've located security footage of him stealing weapons and supplies."

"That's impossible. He redeemed himself that night. We thought he was trapped in the explosion." Kara was still in shock.

"We also got a trace on what it could be for," Winn chimed in. "We think it's Cadmus again."

"Let me see the tape." Kara's voice cracked.

Winn pressed a few buttons and pulled out a tape of Jeremiah breaking a window and leaving with military weapons and chemicals. At first, she couldn't tell that it was him, but he turned around and she felt her heart break a little. It was him.

"Luckily, the tracker I put in when he first attacked me is still inside of him and intact. I'm surprised Cadmus is letting their guard down, not scrambling signals or anything."

"No, that doesn't make sense though. When we fought Cadmus before and they took Mon-El and I, you couldn't get a peep out of us. They're always trying to be secretive. They wouldn't be this reckless."

"Unless they wanted to be found." J'onn sensed the fear and hurt in Kara's eyes, but he also saw determination of stopping her foster father. He knew she was conflicted about telling Alex or not, and that it would tear her to pieces if she kept it away from her. J'onn stepped closer and whispered, "Kara, I know what you're thinking, and you need to keep quiet about this right now. It's too dangerous, and you know that Alex put herself in way too much danger last time."

"What about Maggie?"

"Tell her. Let her know what's going on so she can keep Alex away from this."

"When Alex finds out she won't like it. She'll be angry. And you know Maggie's not going to like keeping it from Alex."

"We have no choice. Tell her and she's a danger to herself and the mission. Again, you know what happened last time."

The blonde sighed. Even this early, she knew it would end with casualties and breakdowns. She knew that it would break her sister again.

"So what now?"

"We wait until he strikes again since we can't just go in blind. We don't know if Cadmus is actually back yet. For now, go home and get some sleep. I know this is a lot to take in so sleep on it. We need Supergirl at full strength when we know what we're dealing with."

Kara nodded and left. When she got home, she took out her phone to call Maggie.

The NCPD officer shuffled in the bed and looked at her buzzing phone. "Kara."

"Hey Maggie. They just told me what happened and it's not good. Is Alex awake?"

Maggie glanced down at Alex, fast asleep and still in her jeans and pullover. "No, but give me a second to go to the hallway to talk."

"Okay, what's up?"

"It's Cadmus. Well, maybe, we're not sure yet. When I came in, J'onn showed me surveillance footage of a man stealing guns and some other chemicals we haven't identified yet. It was Jeremiah."

"You're kidding."

"I wish I was. And I know you didn't support J'onn's decision, but you know from last time she almost got herself killed. We don't know who or what we're dealing with, plus it's been two years since we've seen him. We don't know what happened."

"I know. I just wish there was some way to help her when she finds out. She's not going to be happy."

"That's what I said. Look, he said not to do anything until we know more. So please, don't tell Alex yet. We'll know when the time is right. I just hope you're with me."

"Yeah I am this time. If he's a threat again it'll break her."

"I'm going to get some sleep. I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Take it easy Little Danvers. I know this is hard for you too."

"Thanks."

Kara hung up and held her hands in her head. She knew it might be a long day ahead of her tomorrow, and she laid down to try the best she could to sleep. She listened for her sister's heart beat again. _Slow, steady, gentle._She just hoped it would stay that way.

Maggie got back into bed and stared at the ceiling. Alex had wrapped her arms around her and the shorter girl held her and kissed her head.

She whispered to her sleeping girlfriend, "It's a long road ahead, Danvers. But I got you."


	3. Hiding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex has a plan, but when it goes interrupted by a familiar face, what will she do? Kalex sister bonding and mentions of Sanvers.

It was noon when Alex woke up the next day. Her head was pounding, even with the curtains closed. She yawned and struggled to roll out of bed, knowing that she would jog to get rid of the hangover. Looking around, she vaguely remembered Maggie bringing her back to their apartment, tucking her in and them falling asleep. It was fuzzy, but she remembered her on the phone, probably someone about a case. She was used to that. She remembered her coming back into bed and holding her. _I just want it to stay this way._ The thought made her smile.

When she got up, she found a note on the table and a freshly brewed coffee. _Afternoon, sleepy head. Good thing you don't have work today but unfortunately I do. See you around 7 . xo Maggie. _She must have left around 11 for her 11:30 shift, and because Alex's body acted like a clock, she knew she'd be up in exactly 8 hours from when she went to sleep.

Alex checked her phone for a text from Maggie or the DEO. Nothing. She actually smiled at the fact that she had the whole day to relax and plan. _Maybe I'll plan a date night. Perfect day to do this. _

It was no secret that Alex and Maggie were back together, and that taking things slow were better. It was time to heal, to talk and to just get to know each other again. But in their four months, they both knew that they didn't want to let each other go again. She still had the rings, and was now looking for a perfect night to pop the question again.

Alex was grinning now as she walked out the door. She decided to go for a run, then go shopping and to the bar before meeting Maggie at home. She already texted her and Kara, the former to help set up at the apartment. _It's going to be a good day, _she thought to herself.

At 5:30, Alex and Kara stood looking at the apartment. Candles and roses littered across the apartment and tequila, bonsai trees and tiramisu were spread out across the kitchen counter.

"Thank you Kara, I owe you big time." Alex sounded like a child getting a puppy.

"No need Alex. That's what sisters are for." Kara adjusted her glasses and gave her sister a grin before pulling her into a hug. _Nothing happened yet. Please let it not be tonight. _She held her sister close, not knowing that in an hour her sister's life would change again.

"Okay, I'm going to go to the bar for one drink," Alex was putting on her jacket and left a note for Maggie to pour herself a glass before getting there. "I promise, it'll only be one. I need this to be as perfect as possible."

"It will be."

With that, Alex made sure she had her purse and gun and squealed as she walked outside the door.

Alex planned on being there until 6:30, would be home by 6:45 in time for Maggie to meet her at 7:30 by the time she came home from her commute. She kept talking to herself, _drinks, food, ring_, making sure her plan was perfect. She knew Maggie would say yes even if it was just a casual plan, but the concept of the big gay wedding they envisioned so long ago was still very relevant in their heads.

6:30 on the dot, she paid and walked out of the bar. Suddenly, a figure stood before her. She reached for her gun.

"My Alex."

"Who are you?"

"It's been two years. I know you've been waiting awhile, but I've made it." He walked into the light.

"Dad?"

"I've missed you so much my sweet girl." Jeremiah hugged her and Alex cried in relief. She couldn't believe that her dad was finally home again, and hopefully for the better. She knew she shouldn't have been this trusting, but she didn't care. "Let's get somewhere safe so we can talk. I still need to watch who I'm around." Alex looked at him in his eyes. _Tired, aging._

She decided that her plans with Maggie could wait another hour. She didn't realize that she'd forget all about them.

Jeremiah guided Alex down the alleyway and into an old, beat-up car. "I need to drive for a little bit but we can talk if you want."

Alex couldn't. She was still stunned at the fact that her father was here. It was silent until he pulled into an old building Alex recognized as one of the abandoned L-Corp facilities. One that was used as a Cadmus lab so long ago. She pulled out her gun.

"Leave that here. You don't need it, it's alright. It's just me in there." His voice was still the same calming tone as he kept when he told her Kara was going to live with them.

She decided to trust him.

Alex walked in after her father. Where the alien ship once stood was ruins from the bombs she planted and the gunfire from the night two years ago. It was nostalgic to the day she thought she lost her father.

In the corner was an air mattress, some tools, a gun, toiletries and a few cans of food and water. A reflection caught her eye and she walked over to two pictures of the family: one before he was taken away by Hank Henshaw and the other when he came to dinner for the night before the betrayal. She knelt down to study the fallen frames.

"I think about our family all the time." Jeremiah walked up behind her. You and Kara, your mother. How happy Maggie has made you."

"Yeah?"

"I do. We only had a short time together before I was taken again, but that night Henshaw had knocked me unconscious. I woke up in the middle of Opal City, trying to find my way back to you, but some of Lillian's friends were tracking me. I couldn't just come back. I had to hide because I knew." He paced.

"But you didn't even send us a message or some sort of sign that you were okay."

"I couldn't. I had to protect my family."

"Dad..."

He sat down next to her. "Remember when I told you everything that I do is for you? For Kara, your mother? I wasn't lying. I'm trying to protect you. Do you trust me?"

"I do." For a split second, Alex swore she saw red flashing, but brushed it off.

Jeremiah's voice became robotic and hoarse. "Then you'll understand why I have to do this." His arm flew out so fast Alex couldn't react.


	4. Hurt Again (0:00 - 1:32)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang is excited for Alex’s big plans with Maggie. All things seem to be going according to plan, but when she never comes home, it sends shockwaves through everyone.

_6:30_. Kara was beaming in her apartment. She helped Alex set up for what may be one of the best nights of her sister's life, and there was no sign of trouble from her father. _It better stay this way._ She closed her eyes, listening for her heartbeat. _Fast, nervous, excited. _She had no idea it was for a different reason.

Kara decided to go out with Winn and James, telling them that it was a big day for Alex. They'd celebrate themselves at Noonan's before the couple would join them. There was no way Maggie would say no. Kara's own heart was beating faster than normal, the anticipation of Alex telling her the good news later. She sighed contently and heard a honk, signaling that Winn was there. She was in such a rush that she mistakenly left without her phone.

* * *

_7:30._ Maggie stepped into her apartment, full of deja vu of her and Alex's first Valentine's Day, only this time it wasn't overly red with cheesy decorations. She looked around on the table, complete with some glasses and a post-it. _Feel free to pour yourself a drink. I'll be in out in a few minutes by the time you get this note. _Maggie smiled and looked around. The apartment was dimly lit, soft music and faint smells of cinnamon candles littering the atmosphere. She waited for five minutes, but didn't hear anything from the other side of the bathroom.

"Danvers?" Maggie stood up in confusion. It wasn't like Alex to at least give her a quick shout indicating she was still getting ready.

Maggie walked over to the bathroom, which she had discovered that the door was open slightly. As she slowly pushed it open, no one was there.

"Alex, if you're here somewhere, this isn't funny." No response. She picked up her phone and texted Kara.

**Maggie: ** _Kara, have you seen Alex?_

Still no response. She tried calling her and it went to voicemail. _What is going on?_

* * *

_7:53. _Only 23 minutes had passed since Alex was supposed to be there. Winn's phone vibrated in his pocket.

"Schott. Shoot." Maggie could tell he was slightly drunk.

"Winn, it's me. Is Kara with you?"

"Yes she is! We're at Noonan's, do you want to come join? Does this mean Alex asked you?"

"What?"

Winn lowered his voice. "You know. Kara said by now you would have said yes."

"Winn Alex isn't here. And from what you're saying she's not with you either?" Maggie started to panic.

Winn sobered up a little. "No she was supposed to be at your apartment when you came home from work. Hold on a second." Maggie heard shuffling and a different voice answered the line. "Maggie? How did everything go?"

"Kara, I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you know where Alex is? And why aren't you answering your phone?"

The blonde stiffened then face-palmed. "Oh man. She probably stayed too long and had too many drinks at the bar." Kara looked confused, as she didn't get a message. She felt her pockets and realized she left her phone at home. "Apparently I don't have my phone."

"Okay whatever. But the bar? Like our bar?"

"Yeah. Want me to go meet you there?"

"Sure. I'll see you in 15."

Kara met Maggie outside in her normal clothes. They just glanced at each other before walking in. When they got inside, there was no sign of Alex.

"Darla, have you seen my sister?"

"Yeah. She left at 6:30. I have the receipt right here. Something about meeting you at home?" She pointed to Maggie.

"Well, that's the thing. She never came home." Maggie's heart was beating faster now.

"Oh. Well I'm sorry. I can't help you out then. I wish I could."

The two thanked Darla, turned and walked out.

"Something's not adding up. Why is there all this romantic stuff and then she just doesn't show up?" Maggie sighs.

"Give me a second." Maggie tries to call Alex again as Kara closes her eyes. _Nothing. Why don't I hear anything?_ Suddenly there was a loud thud and Kara heard faint, erratic heartbeats.

"Maggie, call J'onn! Tell him to track me and meet me there."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to track her heartbeat. It's not good, Maggie."

"I'm coming with you. The last time she was taken we risked too much." There was desperation in the brunette's eyes. "Please."

"Call him while we're flying. Let's go, now!" Within seconds, Kara changed into her Supergirl outfit, picked her up and thrust into the air.

* * *

"Then you'll understand why I have to do this."

Jeremiah's hand flashed past Alex and gripped her throat tight.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Alex was struggling for breath, trying to pry his hand away from her. She kicked him in the leg and he threw her across the room. She hit the wall with a shout and gasped for breath.

He didn't speak. His eyes were dark, and picked his daughter up once again and threw her.

Alex groaned. She rolled onto her stomach and felt like her back was on fire. There was blood coming out from her mouth and she coughed. Jeremiah walked forward and grabbed her with both arms. He pinned her against the wall and punched her in the face.

"I'm not fighting you, dad. Please. Stop." He threw her onto the ground and stomped on her stomach. She screamed.

* * *

"Alex!" A pang shot in Kara's heart with the scream. She sensed that she was in distress and tried to fly faster.

"J'onn's sending a strike team to follow us. He's flying. Are we getting close?"

"Her heartbeat is getting louder. We have to be." Kara had an idea of the location. Suddenly, she froze.

"What is it?"

"It- it's slow. It's stopping."

"Go, dammit!" Maggie's desperation was enough to snap Kara out of her thoughts and soar to the location she thought of. As they came near, Maggie knew where they were headed and called J'onn back.

"J'onn. Where the alien ship was. Come quick, and bring the medical squad at the front of the line!"

Kara covered Maggie's head tightly as she crashed through the ceiling of the abandoned L-Corp facility. There lay a bloody and unconscious Alex, with a figure punching, kicking, and stomping her big sister.

He turned around at the crash. Maggie ran towards Alex and Kara already had her heat vision ready to fire at him. Maggie put her head on the bloodied girl's chest and listened to a faint heartbeat. Once confirmed, she sat up and put her head in her lap and kissed her forehead. _Just hold on, Alex. J'onn's coming. I'm here. Kara's here. I can't lose you. Please, just hold on._

"Jeremiah! Don't. Move. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to."

He still remained silent. Maggie looked onto the altercation and she noticed something falter in him for a second. His eyes then started to glow a crimson red before leaping up.

Kara tried to chase after him but there was nothing. Nothing to sense, nothing to even lead on. She quickly went back onto the ground and ran towards her sister.

"Alex!"

"She's still alive. Barely." She could hear sirens in proximity. J'onn appeared next to them.

"What the hell happened?"

"It was Jeremiah. He tried to kill her."

**A/N -** Thanks for reading! I'm going to post the Soundcloud link in my bio, and if you listen to the whole piece, I'd love for you to review it if you can!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading (whether here or FFN)! I posted the Soundcloud link in my bio, and if you listen to the whole piece, I'd love for you to review it if you can!


	5. Alex (1:33 - 2:37)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer, I know nothing about medical terms or what happens, everything I know is from Grey's Anatomy. Thanks for reading!

The ride back to the DEO medbay shook up J'onn, Kara and Maggie. Kara and Maggie sat on either side of Alex, holding each of her hands, covered in her blood. J'onn stared at her in thought, trying to read her mind, trying to convince himself that she'd be okay, but she was too injured for him to even think that. So he just kept staring. Kara wished that she could fly her, but there was so much damage. The sight of her injured so badly, ragged breaths, shaking, all of the wires hooked up to her; it was something that they wouldn't forget. There were three IVs in her left arm: blood, fluids and a light sedative, an oxygen mask on her face and wires that monitored her heart.

"We're almost there Alex. Just hold on." Maggie thought back to the night Alex almost drowned. It was a worse fear this time around; the deep-seated worry in the pit of her stomach was too much to bear. The thought that she could lose her best friend, her family, her.

Then the monitor went erratically. Kara and Maggie let go of her hands and looked at her. _Alex_, the one who was always so tough, so brave, was losing an uphill fight.

"She's crashing!" The doctor's crowded around the co-director and J'onn took Kara and Maggie by their shoulders and moved them back.

"Pushing one of epi!"

"Starting her on manual ventilation!"

"J'onn let go of me!" Kara struggled to move, to get out of the martian's grip. "That's my sister! Stop!"

Maggie held Kara this time. "We can't do anything right now, Kara. We have to let them help her. We can't do this, we're not doctors. Look at me." Maggie was trained in crisis situations like these. No matter who was in distress, she knew how to keep it together.

Kara broke down, sobbing, fear of losing her sister. Maggie couldn't hold back and did the same. They held each other, not being able to look at the sight of their best friend being injected, resuscitated, fighting the clock.

_Flatline._

"Alex!" Kara tried to escape Maggie and J'onn's grip again. Maggie looked on with fear.

"Charge to 200! Clear!" _Nothing._

"Pushing another one of epi! Give her that blue vial over there." The medic injected some sort of light blue substance into Alex's veins.

"What is that stuff?" Maggie asked.

"It's Titanian medication Imra left us." J'onn looked on. "We've tried it before on others. It should help stabilize her heart, get it to a steady rhythm."

The trio looked on in agony. Still no signs of improvement. _Why isn't it helping?_

The doctors seemed to hear their thoughts. "Let's charge to 250. Clear!" A slow rhythm on the monitor drew sighs of relief from the three. "Okay she's back. Let's give her another round of fluids and hang up another unit of blood. Let's try this again." Another dose of the Titanian fluid was injected into her. "Alright team, monitor her closely. Right now she's stable."

As if the universe was playing a cruel trick on them, Alex suddenly arched her back on the table. Still unconscious, she broke into a cold sweat, heaving and moaning in pain. She was seizing at the high doses of medication as soft whimpers of pain filled the ambulance. Imra's drug was proven to be safe on humans, to have a stronger effect, but nothing seemed to help her. Even the sedatives didn't seem to work. The three could tell that she was fighting the pain, fighting to stay alive, fighting for the people she loved.

"She's crashing again! Okay, let's try this one." One of the doctors held up a red vial.

"That's Kryptonian. That'll kill her!" Kara looked on as they injected yet another thing into Alex's bloodstream.

"What is it?" Maggie looked at the red coursing through her veins.

"It's Rao Alleviant. It's risky, even for us. Supposed to be the medication of Rao, it's supposed to help the heart but it can be lethal."

"Don't worry, Kara. It's been diluted and we've used it dire situations like this before. It should kickstart where she needs to be."

Maggie held Kara, and they looked on. _Steady beating. _It stayed that way long enough to know that she was back.

"Good job everyone. Now Kara, Maggie, J'onn, we have to wait and see what happens. When we get into the DEO she needs an MRI, an X-Ray and a CT scan to see what damage he did. We'll do some blood panels and skin tests to see if we can get any traces of who did this to her out. Do you consent to doing a ra-"

"No. She doesn't need that." Maggie answered before the doctor could get her sentence out. There was no blood in that area, no trauma when she first checked her. "No one would do _that_ to her."

"Alright. We're here. Let's move!"

J'onn, Kara and Maggie stood behind the moving stretchers. Maggie held Kara's arm in her own, making sure that her girlfriend's little sister was okay. Kara all completely forgot about Alex's plans of proposing, and Maggie forgot the whole reason she was looking for her in the first place.

* * *

Time had passed and Kara hadn't stopped pacing since her sister was taken away for tests. J'onn decided to get coffee and pastries, and Maggie made some calls to her captain as well as James. They would need to take some time off until Alex had woken up and healed and their bosses didn't hesitate one bit and to ask if they needed anything. James told Maggie that Guardian would be present during Supergirl's absence and she thanked him. J'onn had decided to continue directing the DEO, as he knew him and Alex both couldn't be out.

"Kara, Maggie, hi." Dr. Hamilton walked out to greet the two. She looked somber.

"Is she okay?" The two talked at the same time.

"Director Danvers suffered multiple traumas to the head, chest and abdomen. She has a concussion and broken legs. She's in stable condition, and we set her legs back and put them in braces. We don't know when she'll wake up yet though. J'onn said that you two saw her being kicked around before he got away?"

"Yeah, and as soon as Kara yelled something changed in him. He ran."

"I just can't believe it was _him_. He would never do that to Alex, or even to me." Kara's voice still quivered.

"It's going to take some time for us to get all of the results back. Before J'onn left, he scanned Alex's mind for any residual psychic activity. He couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. The concussion seems to have hindered his ability to read it, but he said if there was anything out of the ordinary that Alex saw, it would have came up. Unless there was some sort of barrier protecting Jeremiah's mind, I'm sorry to say it was fully him."

Kara closed her eyes and took a deep breath. _Her second father. The one who was always caring, always helping Kara control her powers, always there when she needed a shoulder to cry on. How could he do this? How could he do this to his child?_ She exhaled. "When can we go see her?"

"You can go in now if you'd like. She'll be okay. It's Alex Danvers we're talking about. It's going to take some time but she'll wake up. I can promise you that."

"Thanks Doc. Okay, Kara are you ready?" Maggie slowly guided her into the medbay.

Alex looked better. Her face was still swollen, taped with a breathing tube, but it was still her. The doctors had cleaned the blood off of her, got her out of her clothes and into a hospital gown. There were two braces on her legs, bandages wrapped around her torso.

Maggie was the first to walk into the room, and motioned for Kara to come through the doorway. They took a seat on either side of her and held her bruised hands. _You'll be alright, Danvers. I love you. _Maggie felt herself tear up, felt like the world was closing in on her, felt like someone tried to take her lifeline away from her.

_Just hold on._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a hard chapter to write. I really didn't know a lot of the medical terms, as you probably can tell. I promise Alex will be okay in the end! Thanks for reading and your reviews again!


	6. Wake Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a short timeskip and some Maggie and Kara bonding. There's a part that I couldn't write to get my point across any other way, and to me as the writer it sounds like I'm leaning towards a Maggie/Kara romance. In case any of you notice it, I don't intend to be. I just want it to be pure sisterly bonding. On another note, this has no part of the orchestral piece, but I feel like I should write some more sidetracks if you all like them. If you have the chance, please read/listen to the scenes that are marked with their respective Soundcloud times (in my bio). Just go to Soundcloud and replace the (slash) with actual slashes! Thanks for reading!

"Lena told me that her and Winn are building an upgraded suit for you. Yeah, it's going to be ready once you wake up and you're back at it again. I have to go, Eliza's making me eat something but Maggie's here. She better tell me if you wake up. I love you. I'll be back soon."

It's been a month and there hadn't been any change with Alex's vitals. They were still stable, but the slow heartbeat didn't ease Kara's thoughts. Kara kept wondering why she wouldn't wake up. Why her big sister hadn't come back yet. Dr. Hamilton kept telling her that sometimes the drugs had to clear out her system, new blood had to circulate through her veins after receiving Rao's Alleviant, but Kara still didn't like the answers. After the large dose in the ambulance, it took two weeks to finally come off of a drip IV of the drug that would hopefully heal her. It would require another two weeks to wean it out of her system, and she would hopefully wake up during that time. The medicine was designed to fully heal one's body and heart, resulting in minimal physical therapy and time off. It was something that Alex would want after going through a trauma like this.

Maggie never knew about Alex's proposal plan. She cleaned the apartment a week after everything happened, shoving everything into the closet, not even thinking about it. The NCPD detective brushed it off as just a romantic evening that never was. She barely even remained in the apartment, only coming home to change and shower. She was staying with Kara, not being able to bear the thought that Alex might never come home.

Both Kara and Maggie still kept themselves out of work. Days had consisted of them staying at Alex's bedside, only leaving when one of them got hungry or just needed to get their minds off of things. J'onn offered to take up nights, as he had to keep an eye out for Jeremiah's next attack. While resistant at first, the two women finally agreed to let him do his part as their surrogate father. When they weren't watching Alex, the two were snuggled up on the couch together, the volume up on their phones in case she woke up, sharing memories, stories and pictures about her with one another. Lena, Winn and James would stop over to keep them company, checking up on them and making sure that they were holding up. Sometimes they'd watch a movie together, and if any part reminded them of their loved one, they'd cry in each other's arms until they fell asleep.

When Eliza got the call the night of Alex's attack, she cried. She cried about her husband, how he could do that to their daughter. _Their _daughter. She cried for the pain that Kara and Maggie must have been feeling. Since then, she decided to split her time between National City and Midvale, visiting her daughters and occasionally making Kara and Maggie food. It was a change, as most nights they would order takeout, never being in the mood to cook. Eliza had dealt with the loss of Jeremiah before, but now it was time to be there for her daughters and their friends. She knew she had to be strong for them, and she helped the DEO with cultivating medications for her to slowly help wake her up.

Winn on the other hand had invested himself into work. He was determined to find something, _anything_ that would help them figure out why Jeremiah attacked Alex, and hoped that there was something behind it. There _must_ have been. Even if it wasn't Cadmus, something, _someone_ was behind hurting one of his best friends that badly, there was no way it could have been Alex's father. He found that someone disabled the tracker the night before the attack, so he had to rely on surveillance footage to locate him. It was like Jeremiah vanished into thin air.

It was his idea to work with Lena to make a new suit, as it could be something she could wear under her normal clothes to be more protected for something like this. Their idea was a simple watch, which she could press and it would turn into a protective barrier around the director's body, so that she couldn't get hurt this badly again.

It was days before Kara's Earth's birthday, and the blonde was more reserved than usual. Maggie knew the day was coming up, September 22nd. It was something she always celebrated with Alex, and the thought of her not being awake then still upset her. The brunette thought maybe she'd take her out to dinner with James and Winn. She detected that something was still bothering Kara on top of that,and would go find out.

Maggie found Kara looking across the balcony. "Little Danvers." She thought to herself _I haven't called her that since Alex got hurt._

Kara jumped at the voice. "Hey Maggie. Any change?" She still sounded somber.

"No. I just wanted to talk to you. See how you're doing."

"I'm alright. As good as you I guess."

"You don't seem like it. I was thinking Friday we can go out with the gang, maybe get both of our minds off of things. I picked a gift out for you awhile ago and I think you'll really like it. We wanted to save it until your birthday."

"I don't know if I'm really in the mood to go out."

"Because of Alex?"

"Yeah."

"But there's something else. What's on your mind, Kara?"

Kara took a deep breath. "Ever since that night, I've been thinking about Jeremiah. About my childhood on Earth. I mean, I only had a year with him before he disappeared but he wasn't like this. He wasn't this monster that would attack his own daughter." Her hands found the railings and gripped it tight, body trembling. Maggie put a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think it was him. It was something bigger than that, someone trying to get her. I mean, I'm a detective. I'm trained to see what people don't normally see. His eyes. Did you see them?"

"No. I was just so shocked at what I was seeing. The broader picture. Him _hurting _Alex."

The brunette laid her head on Kara's shoulder. "I get that. But I saw his eyes change. Something in his demeanor. While he didn't flinch it's almost like his eyes did. I feel like that's why he got out of there when he did. Not to avoid fighting you."

"Really?" Kara straightened herself and looked at Maggie.

"I mean I don't know for sure. That's the problem. But something's not right. I only met him for those few hours so I don't know him like you do, but there was something about when he left."

"I don't even know what to say. I mean I was just so shocked at the whole situation. When Alex wasn't at home when you came, I knew something wasn't right after you called Winn. Still though, the fact that it was him? What can I say about that? How can I not think of Jeremiah as a threat to my family, to Alex or Eliza, even to me?" Kara was trembling again.

Maggie pulled Kara into another hug. "I get that. I know it's hard for you, and you know it is for me too. I mean this is my girlfriend's father hurting _Alex_. And you're a close friend too. You know I'm not okay with the situation. I just have to think positive. That she'll wake up. That something beyond Jeremiah was behind hurting Alex. I don't know."

It was Maggie's turn to tremble. She pulled Kara out of the hug and braced her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "I know I've tried before when Alex and I were first dating. Before we broke up the first time. But even before all of this, I decided that I want to take on a big sister role for you. I want to try harder to get to know you so that if god forbid something happens to her you still have me. So you have me during this time too and any time you might not want to go to Alex. I know _if_ something happens, I can't replace her. I know I never will, but let me be another resource for you. I know Supergirl and I have had our differences, but this is beyond that. It's Kara Danvers and I. Let me do this for you. You're my family just as much as Alex is and I love you like the little sister I never had." Maggie became teary eyed. "We've been at the DEO every day for hours. I know you don't want to celebrate your Earth birthday without Alex there with you but let me help you get Jeremiah off of your mind. It'll be a change from the movies and pictures. Please?"

The seriousness in Maggie's eyes told Kara that she wasn't just saying it to make her feel better. She was being honest about everything, and it made her genuinely happier than she had been.

Kara looked at Maggie and smiled. "I guess I'll go, but only if we can get potstickers."

"That sounds a lot more like you. Let's go back and see Alex for a bit before heading back to your apartment, yeah?"

"Yeah." Maggie put her arm around Kara's waist and the two walked back. "And Maggie?"

"Hm?"

"That means a lot. Thank you."

"Anytime, Kara."


	7. Kara's Earth Birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm caught up with FFN so now the notes should sort of sync up.

Friday night seemed to come by fast. Alex's vitals seemed to have been slowly improving in just three days. It was almost like she was sleeping for the night instead of for months. The Superfriends still took turns watching over her, never leaving her alone. Eliza was in town for the weekend, and decided to let the gang take a break, even with their resistance. Everyone wanted to be around when Alex woke up. Eliza still insisted that they go out and celebrate, and her and Alex would be with them in spirit. She even made J'onn go, as there was still no signs of her husband anywhere. She was still shocked at the gang's rally around her daughter, making her heart full.

Maggie, remembering Kara's request for potstickers decided to make a reservation to a sushi/hibachi lounge. It was the perfect opportunity to get everyone's mind off of Jeremiah, who still hadn't made another move since his attack on Alex. Everyone needed a break on tracking him, though they were still hesitant to leave Alex while they all got to go out and enjoy themselves. They planned on going at 7, but Maggie had made a point to make Kara happy and keep her mind off of Jeremiah.

_ **Earlier that day… ** _

"Kara. Kara? Little Danvers! Earth to Kara!"

"Mmm. What Maggie?" Kara had her face buried in the pillow and rolled over slightly. She took a breath from her nose and smelt pancakes. "I'm up!"

"Happy Earth birthday!" Maggie smiled as she motioned to the table. There was a single birthday candle lit on top of the foot-tall stack of pancakes, and a smaller stack for the NCPD detective. "Come eat, we're going to visit Alex soon."

The pair still hadn't returned to work. Maggie knew if she had, she'd bury herself in it when she'd need to be there for Alex. Kara on the other hand just wasn't ready. Her captain and James gave them all the time they needed to help her, with their jobs still waiting when they did return.

The birthday girl blew her candle out and put it next to her plate. "Thanks Maggie." She finished her stack before Maggie could take two bites out of hers.

"What were you thinking of doing today?" Maggie held her cup of coffee in her hands, looking at her phone for any updates on her girlfriend.

"I don't know. I know we're going out to dinner later, but otherwise I think I just want to spend some time with my sisters." Maggie's heart filled at her comment.

"We can do that. How about you shower and get dressed, and I'm going to run back to my apartment and do the same. I'll swing by and we'll head to the DEO. Later though we'll go back to our apartments and get ready for tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah that sounds fine."

Maggie grabbed her keys and opened the door before Kara spoke out again.

"Maggie, thanks again. Thanks for last night too."

"Don't worry about it. I know it was tough but hey, you're okay now, right?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Alright I'll text you when I'm back." Maggie left and shut the door behind her.

For the first time since Alex's attack, Kara almost felt like her normal self. Sure, there was still a gap where Alex usually was, but she knew that Alex would wake up when she was ready. Last night, she and Maggie had a heart-to-heart talk about Alex, about the possibility of her not waking up, of her missing today for the first time since she landed on Earth. Maggie convinced a crying Kara that Alex _will_ wake up. It was like this for a few days now. Kara bringing up different topics about Alex, anxious as her birthday was coming up without _her_ being there. In the three days since their talk on the balcony, it felt like Kara and Maggie knew each other for a lifetime. When she woke up, it would make Alex happy knowing that they were relying on each other during all of it. They had bonded over movies, more stories, and their different upbringings. Maggie starting a new life at 14 when she was kicked out was more similar with Kara's arrival to Earth than they thought.

Kara got up and showered, and was out on cue when Maggie texted her.

The two walked into the DEO laughing, a sight J'onn, Winn and Eliza were happy to see. Sure, they were all as upset about Alex as the two women were, but they knew their jobs at the DEO and as their mother had been vital.

"Happy Earth birthday, Kara!" The three were waiting for her when they walked in.

"Aw thanks you guys!"

"We have presents!"

"You didn't have to." Kara smiled. It was _almost _like things were back to normal. She got a board game from J'onn for their next game night, a custom talking Supergirl plushie and a holographic band for her suit from Winn, and food, reporter journals and a photo album from Eliza. Maggie smiled at Kara's happiness. She was glad that she was slowly coming back to her perky self.

"Do you mind if I go ahead and be alone with Alex for a few minutes?" Maggie knew Kara wanted to stay and talk to her friends and family for a little before going to visit her sister.

"Yeah of course! I'll meet you in there?"

"Yeah give me like five minutes."

Maggie took a breath and walked in. It was a sight she was getting used to, wires, tubes and IVs still in her girlfriend's body. It wasn't like she didn't get time alone with Alex to talk, as did the others, but today was different. Today she needed these five minutes with every fiber of her being. She wanted something that she knew Alex probably couldn't do. Not yet. But it was worth asking.

Maggie took a seat and held Alex's rough hand. She rubbed her knuckles, still calloused from training so often. Even after a month they were still her hands, rough and battle-worn. One of Alex's many insecurities that Maggie always told her that she loved her for. She leaned down and kissed her hand, then her cheek before moving close to whisper in her ear.

"Hey, you. I hope you're getting ready to wake up soon. You know, in the past month I've really gotten to bond with Kara. I know I tell you about it all the time, but I hope you're listening. I'm sure even though you've been sleeping for all this time you know it's Kara's Earth birthday today. I know it'll be hard for you, and I'm not sure if you can, but it would mean the world to her for you to wake up today. I think it would be the best gift she's ever received. I think it would be the best gift I could receive too. I know it sounds selfish, but I really miss you. We all do. Kara and I especially. We're all rallying for you, Alex. I know you're fighting in there, otherwise I'd be talking to you six feet under. It's going to be a tough road ahead of you with your father, but I'm sure it'll make you stronger. I know you'll be broken, but we're here. I hope you hear me. We are here. We're here for you, to help you, to heal you, to make sure you know that we all love you. Do you hear me now? We love you. I love you _so much_, Alex Danvers. I love all of your scars, your bruises, your insecurities, the way you crinkle your nose or the way your chew on your tongue and scowl when you feel guilty. The way talk about science like it's your kid, the way you talk about _our _future kids. I was a fool to let you go in the first place because of it. But I'm here now, I'm here when you wake up, I'm here. We have a good life here. So I am asking you to please wake up. For me, for Kara, for Winn, James, J'onn, Eliza. Hell, even Lena and Vasquez and all of your friends here. Please. You are a badass, Alex. I know you'll be okay. So please. Wake up for us." Maggie kissed her head again then put her head on Alex's chest. She listened to her heartbeat.

_**Present time**_…

"Happy birthday dear Kara! Happy birthday to you!" Kara laughed at the drunkenness of most of her friends around her. It had been a good night, forgetting all about Jeremiah for the night. It was a night for the group to let go, to forget about what was happening around them.

"To Kara, our wonderful friend!" Winn was always the happy drunk.

"Can I change that up a little?" Kara adjusted her glasses.

"To what?" Lena asked.

"To Alex." The group sombered up a little. "Let's hope she wakes up soon."

"To Alex." Everyone chimed their glasses together. Maggie and Lena hugged Kara.

"Now who wants to dance?"

The rest of the night consisted of dancing and more drinking. Kara, Maggie and J'onn made sure they stayed mostly sober in case anything changed with Alex, but they liked to watch everyone else have fun. They were out talking, dancing and singing for hours, anything that helped them forget about Jeremiah, celebrate Kara and make her happy.

It was 2AM by the time Kara and Maggie dropped everyone off and came home. J'onn decided to fly back to the DEO and relieve Eliza in case anything changed. Maggie was happily buzzed, while Kara smiled at the memories she had made with her friends. She still didn't forget about Alex, making sure that they honored her throughout the night, but it was as close to normalcy as she had been in the month that had passed.

"Maggie, thanks for planning this whole thing. Three nights ago I wouldn't have even thought about going out. I had a lot of fun, and I hope you did too."

"Yeah, I did. I think that it was good for all of us. I'm glad you mentioned Alex throughout the night though, I know it was your day, but she's a big part of all of us too."

"She's my sister, of course I want to honor her. She's always been the one to make my Earth birthday normal. She made me feel at home after being sent here."

Maggie smiled. Even though the two had been spending a lot of time together for over a month, they were making a lot of progress within these past three days. The brunette was glad that she got to bond with her future sister-in-law (or so she hoped) sooner than later.

"Oh, I almost forgot, your gift from me!"

"You just threw me a party. You didn't have to get me anything else."

"I told you we got it awhile ago." Maggie went into her bag and pulled out a square box wrapped in kraft paper. "Just open it."

Kara tore threw the paper carefully. She looked at it. It was a photo album of her, Alex and Maggie together. It looked hand-stitched and was decorated in House of El stickers and flags from around the country.

"Remember when Alex and I took that vacation to Greece? I saw this album and instantly thought you should get it. Alex helped me pick out all of the photos and helped tell me where you've been before. Open it up."

Inside, Kara turned through different photos of her, Alex and Maggie in different places. One of them fooling around in the bar, another of her and Maggie kissing either side of Alex's cheeks, another of her and Alex when they were younger. There were even pictures of the former two off-world. There were even cutouts of the planets that she'd been. She inspected it more. There were notes from both Maggie and Alex all over dated from when they got back from the trip.

She picked one out. It had Alex's penmanship all over.

_Dear Kara,_

_Even though I'm dating Maggie again, you're still my best friend. I would protect you with all I had if it ever came down to it. I love you, and you're my sister so never forget that. I'll never shove you aside._

_Love always, Alex_

She smiled and put it back to the page she found it in. There was another note. This time it was from Maggie.

_Little Danvers,_

_Aren't you surprised that I picked this out? Alex wanted to get you a hat from here. I told her no. I thought that this was totally you and went with your journalism stuff well. Anyway, I just want you to know that no matter what happens, you and Alex will always be sisters. She's only one call away, even if we're in the middle of being intimate (sorry), she'd get up for you in a heartbeat. I want you to know too that I think of you as a little sister. I love you, and I hope whatever's in my future, whether with Alex or not, I can get to know you more. No matter what, you'll always have me too in case you need a cop friend, if you don't want to go to Alex for some reason, or if she's busy. I got you, Little Danvers._

_Love, Maggie_

Kara sniffled again, tearing up at the note. It further confirmed Maggie's intentions to get to know Kara better, not just because of the events that had happened. She gave Maggie an unexpected hug.

"I thought you would like it."

"I love it. This is an amazing gift Maggie. It's going on my desk at the office. I love you."

"Wherever you want to put it. I just hope you know you'll be my sister no matter what."

"Yeah." Kara felt a buzzing from her pocket. She picked it up and saw J'onn's caller ID. Her face turned with anxiety.

"J'onn? What's up?"

"It's Alex. Come to the DEO now!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I find myself getting a lot of inspiration from Calzona (Grey's). As you might have seen, the end of Maggie's speech to Alex was similar to (SPOILER) when Arizona was asking Callie to wake up after the car accident. Anyway thank you again for your continued reading, and let me know if you'd like for me to make more soundtracks (link to Soundcloud in my bio)!


	8. Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara and Maggie rush in at J'onn's call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of Sanvers fluff towards the end. I'm sorry I'm so bad at it. Again, thank you for reading and your continued reviews, follows and favorites!

Kara grabbed Maggie and started flying before the shorter women could even ask what was going on. _Gee Little Danvers, a little warning next time._

It took her less than 3 minutes to arrive onto the balcony, but Kara couldn't help but wonder, _is she awake? Is she dead? Did she wake up but not remember anything?_ She decided whatever it was didn't matter. All that did was that for some reason J'onn needed her, and she'd be there.

"I know I've asked you this before, but please, for the love of god, tell me next time before you fly me out the window." Maggie fixed her wind-blown hair.

"Sorry." Both of them turned on their heels and ran into the medbay. They passed a crying Eliza outside the doorway and both thought the worse.

As they entered, there were familiar eyes staring at them. _Warm, green_. The brunette smiled, her voice hoarse from the tube. "Kara. Maggie. Hey."

They sighed in relief. Kara walked up to her sister and hugged her tightly. Maggie did the same and kissed her lips, something she's been missing for a month. She still had the wires in her chest and the IVs in for pain, but the breathing tube was out. She still had the same warm smile as she did before.

"When did you wake up?" Maggie asked, holding her arm.

"A little before J'onn called you. He just went to go get me something to eat. I'm still tired. Mom wanted some tests run on me before they called you, you know, just in case something happened to my state of mind. Sorry, I know she probably scared you. I think she was just relieved that I'm okay."

"Well that's why I'm crying too right now." Kara said. "I was so scared you weren't going to wake up."

"But you did." Maggie finished Kara's sentence and went over to wrap her arm around the blonde. "You must have gotten sick of us talking to you all the time."

Alex chuckled. "I didn't. I'll never get tired of you guys speaking to me, but it's weird too." Alex shifted herself to sit up with Kara's help. "I remember parts of everything that happened while I was in this coma. It was almost like I was conscious but fell asleep while you were talking to me, and I couldn't control it, couldn't respond. I heard you all talking to me, Winn and James, especially you two and J'onn. It was all of these vivid memories and conversations where I couldn't wake up. Like Kara, I know you told me that you made Maggie watch _A Walk to Remember_ with you, and Maggie, you were talking about how you two are taking off work. Um, Winn said something about a new suit and I think James and Lena were talking about CatCo stuff. And tonight mom insisted you guys go out and have fun. Oh yeah, you tried that sushi place without me?" Alex raised an eyebrow and Kara looked guilty.

"Sorry," Maggie stepped forward and waved awkwardly. "My bad."

Alex laughed again. "I don't know, my body just shut down for awhile. I remember everything from before I was put into this coma to bits and pieces of what you guys were saying to me while I was under."

"So you do remember what happened." Kara looked down as she asked, the thoughts of Jeremiah hurting her sister resurfacing.

"I do. I was conscious until you two came."

"And how are you feeling about it?"

"Honestly, I can't even begin to process it right now. I know I didn't fight back. I couldn't. I mean he's my father. He raised me. I know I'm a federal agent trained in fighting, how to put my personal life aside, but there was something about that night. How _stupid_ I was to let him take me somewhere, to leave my gun in his car, to let myself just trust him like that. Something about the way he threw me and kicked me and hit me that physically and mentally I couldn't even think about fighting him back." She put her head in her hands. "We had a conversation right before he grabbed me." She rubbed her hands on her neck, still red and slightly bruised. "He said he was hiding from other Cadmus agents, that he couldn't contact us because people were still out looking for him, but I just keep thinking. What if he lied to me? He lied to me before, and he did now, and then he almost tried to kill me. Maybe I didn't do anything about it because he _is_ my father. I still love him." Alex sighed. "I'm sure there will be more feelings, and I know you'll all be there to help me when I do feel them. Right now I guess I'm just shocked."

"You have every right to be. You have all the time in the world." J'onn walked in with a few pieces of toast and some water. "I know these aren't the words you want to hear but we have to treat Jeremiah as a threat."

"I understand."

"Here, eat this. I'll be right back, we need to see if anything's going on. Kara, Maggie, can I have a word?" They looked at Alex, who gave them a reassuring nod, and went with J'onn. Eliza came back in and talked to her daughter more.

"I performed a psychiatric test on Alex. From what I can tell, she's alright and passed it. I didn't sense any other psychiatric activity that could have hindered her brain."

"What do you mean? Could she be a threat?" Maggie rubbed her arm nervously. She couldn't imagine Alex hurting her or Kara the same way Jeremiah hurt her.

"I mean that there's no reason why we should question her any further. We did thorough tests and there were no scans or anything that I detected that would see her that way. She's still Alex. I just didn't want to scare her anymore than she may be already."

"Okay good." Kara sighed. "So what else was it?"

"I need you two to realize that she's still not 100 percent. She's going to want to join the fight, but I don't know if she'll be able to handle it. I heard the last bit of what she said, about not being able to physically or mentally bring herself to fight Jeremiah. It's something she can't do. Rao's Alleviant helped with the healing process, but she doesn't have the mentality to even hurt him."

"We know that." Kara crossed her arms. "I just don't know what this means for her, for me even. Our family. I know that Maggie and I don't have as many ties to him, but would Alex be able to forgive us if-" Her voice faltered. She looked back to when Alex killed Astra. It felt like if it came down to it, it would be different. Kara's aunt versus Alex's father. She had no idea if Alex would be able to come back from that.

"You have to keep her safe. We still don't know what we're dealing with and we can't have Alex's personal feelings in the way or hinder our ability to take down our threat. If it comes down to it, it will affect all of us. For now, help her through physical therapy. She may be okay now, but there will be emotional trauma soon. I don't know how severe it will be, but you need to be there."

With everything Alex had been through - being kidnapped, almost drowning, breaking up with Maggie, a near-death plane crash, Jeremiah betraying them the first time - she had her fair share of emotional trauma. She'd take it to a bottle of scotch, party hard or invest herself in work, but this time was going to be different. Maggie and Kara knew that they had to help her through it, as it was undoubtedly the worst thing that could happen to her. Her father. Her life, shattered again.

"When will we be able to take her home?" Maggie asked.

"If all goes well tonight and the morning, we can let you bring her home tomorrow evening. I take it you two will want her with both of you together, so maybe you can keep your current arrangements. Otherwise you'll have to decide where you want her to stay."

"I can stay at your place for a couple more nights. Or do you want to come to our apartment?" Maggie looked over at Kara.

"We can go to yours. I'm sure she'll want her own bed. But if you do any funny business remember I have super hearing! Plus I'm a light sleeper." Kara elbowed the shorter woman.

Maggie laughed. "I don't think she'll be up to that just yet anyway."

Kara turned around. "I'm going to go talk to her alone for a few minutes, do you mind? You can talk after if you want."

"Go ahead. J'onn?"

"She's all yours. Just remember what I told you."

"Got it. And J'onn? Thanks." Kara smiled and walked back to the medbay. Alex looked up at the footsteps and Eliza left to give them privacy.

A few minutes later, Maggie entered the doorway. She loved hearing the two sisters laugh, smiling big, everything about it. It was a perfect memory to look back on after so many bittersweet ones in the past month.

They both looked up and Kara left to give Maggie some privacy with Alex. It would be the first time that she really got to talk to her alone after she woke up.

"Hey, you." Alex looked at her girlfriend. "To think it's been a month since I've gotten to see you face to face."

"Yeah, remind me to never let that happen again." They both laughed and Maggie sat down. She kissed her softly before lingering closely to her face.

"I'll try not to, but you better not have any run-ins yourself." Alex looked down and smiled to herself. A few moments passed before she spoke again. "You know, it worked."

"What did?"

"What you said to me. I heard all of it. About you bonding with Kara, you asking me waking up, everything you said you loved about me."

"And I meant every word. I love you so much Alex. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. With Kara as my sister, with Eliza as my mom. Your friends and family rallying around us? I love that. I love how they do that for you and how they welcomed me again. I know it wasn't easy for a lot of them but they still did it. Did you hear I gave Kara the photo album? She loved it. I told you it was better than the hat."

"Hey!"

"So yes, I did mean every word I said. It really did work?"

"It did. I kept fighting, but you gave me that push to wake up. What I needed to hear. I know you've all been asking me but it was something about you. Your voice. About the very real possibility of losing us again, and I couldn't live with that. Kara helped too, I hated when she cried. I knew I needed to get back, but I don't know. I just needed that. And now I'm here and can take care of my favorites again."

"You need to take time for yourself too. You're awake and they gave you some medication, but you're not 100 percent yet. You're always so selfless and we all want to be the ones helping you now. Let us."

Alex huffed then laughed. "Fine. Does this mean we can watch my movies instead of Kara's?"

"Please. God, I didn't know she could cry that much about a movie."

"I know right? Also, thanks for bonding with her. I'd love to see more of that in the future."

"It's actually really nice. I've become her surrogate big sister. I told her I know that I would never be able to replace you if god forbid this took a turn for the worst, but I'd be there. And I think we both needed each other this month. We stayed together at her apartment and we'd just bond over you. You'll love it next time we're all together. J'onn said that could be tomorrow. Kara will stay with us at our place if that's okay. We figured we'd both need to be with you."

"That sounds perfect." Alex felt her eyes become heavy again. "Come here?" She shifted over on the bed and Maggie crawled in next to her. She let Maggie melt into her, let her snuggle up to her head, let her kiss her mouth, her neck. "What you said about me being broken. I can't feel it right now, but I know I will be. I also know you'll be there to help me through it. So thank you."

"Ride or die, Danvers. Now get some rest." Maggie nuzzled her head into Alex's neck.

"Ride or die."

With that, the pair fell asleep, content, ready for the next day when Alex could finally come home. She woke up, and even though there would be tough times ahead of them, her being awake, talking, it was all everyone needed now.


	9. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex comes home with welcoming arms.

Alex was too eager. Eager to sleep in her own bed, eager to get back to her normal life, eager to stop being treated like she was glass, just eager to go home. She just had to wait until 5:00.

Alex and Maggie had woken up the next morning, still snuggled up together, when the former was pulled in for more tests. The latter chose to go home with Kara and Eliza to help them get the apartment ready for Alex's arrival. They took away any alcohol and gave it to Winn, James and Lena, moved some furniture to put physical therapy equipment around, put any medicine on the nightstand and made sure the fridge was stocked with any of Alex's favorite foods. Everything was to be perfect when she would arrive later that night.

The morning was spent doing any final tests on Alex, while Winn and James pitched in to throw her a small, quiet gathering when she arrived soas not to tire her out too much. The afternoon would be a routine check to make sure Alex could handle basic physical activity such as walking, climbing stairs and getting across the room without assistance.

J'onn did one final scan at Alex's mind. There was nothing out of the ordinary, which was a good sign. Her brain scans were clear of any concussions or unusual activity, blood tests all negative. Kara beamed that her sister was doing so well, and the sooner 5:00 came, the more everyone got excited.

"I'm giving you at least two weeks off. No buts. I don't care if you're co-director, just use this time to spend with your family and rest."

"I'll probably need it. No use arguing with that." She was still weak from not walking for a month, from her legs being broken, from the sedatives still coursing out of her body, from all of the medications she had to take. For once she knew she needed to rest and take it easy.

5:00 came around and Alex passed all of the routine tests. She was ready to go home, and Maggie was going to take her after battling it out with Kara. Each of them knew that the little downtime that she had was precious, and they needed to cherish each moment before Alex went back out on the field.

"You're all set. Kara already has any medications you need to take at home and you'll come back every three days so Hamilton can check you out. I'm glad you're back, Alex." J'onn looked at his surrogate daughter proudly. "I'll see you in a little bit."

Maggie gave the martian a look and wheeled her out before Alex could question him. She looked up at Maggie to ask, but the shorter brunette shook her head, a silent _I'm not telling you anything._ Getting down to the ground level, one of the doctors wheeled her out and helped her into Maggie's car. She was finally on her way.

The ride was silent for the six blocks, but there was a lot of hand holding and smiling. Maggie sometimes had to pinch herself that Alex was still here, still alive, still breathing. It was a thought that always made her tear up. The thought of her being safe and sound in her arms.

"And we're here! Let me help you out, do you want me to get the wheelchair or can you walk to the elevator?"

"I think I can do it. Come on, I just want to get there."

As they walked into the apartment, Alex saw all of her friends with food and soft music. J'onn, Lena, Winn, James, Eliza, Kara all there to greet her, all there to make her feel welcome again.

"Welcome home, Alex!"

"You guys didn't have to."

"We figured we'd have a small gathering. Nothing to tire you out too much. We'll have dinner and then go home." Winn looked at Alex and couldn't stop grinning. He pulled her into a gentle hug. "Oh, I've missed you so much."

It earned him a smack on the head. Alex was definitely back.

The dinner consisted of potstickers, donuts, sushi, pizza, everything that Alex liked. She insisted that people take some of the leftovers home, or else she knew Kara would eat it all in one sitting. It was a night for Alex to catch up on what had been going on for the month, and just spend time with her friends and family. A night to forget about what had happened, a night to make Alex feel normal, like she was just away rather than in a coma for the past month. She appreciated it beyond words, and made a mental note to buy their first round next time they went to the bar.

As the laughter and talking were dying down, Lena stood up. "I know you heard some stuff while you were sleeping, but we just wanted to present you with this." She went over to the closet and dug out a large box and a smaller one. "Open the larger one first." Alex smiled at Lena and started to tear up. Her friends really did care about her.

Alex carefully unwrapped the larger box, an engraved wooden chest, with her name written in cursive and silver around the edges. She was confused as to why she was given such a pretty box.

"Open it." James motioned for Alex to do so. "I don't think you'll be disappointed."

Inside the chest were letters. She carefully took one out, smiling when she saw the name. It read:

_Dear Alex,_

_I know we haven't seen you in awhile but I miss you! You're like my cool aunt, letting me see Supergirl, get ice cream and everything else. Thank you again for taking care of me. I hope you wake up soon so I can visit you. _

_Love, Ruby_

It was letters like those that made Alex's heart full. Others from Sam, Kara, Maggie, Eliza, J'onn, James, Winn, Lena, Vasquez, Lucy, and more, they were all folded neatly into the box. All showing how much they wanted her to wake up, how much they rallied around her, how much they love her. Alex let a tear fall and laughed, trying to brush them off as nothing, but the group hugged her.

"And there's something else in the box!" Kara exclaimed, practically jumping in her seat.

Alex shuffled through the letters and found a smaller wooden box inside. It was a carefully crafted frame with pictures of the Superfriends, of her and the DEO, her and Kara, her and Maggie and many more. Pictures she had always pointed out as her favorites, all stored in one collage that would now be able to go with the letters.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Winn smiled at his idea. He had gotten the chest from the future, which had his dirt collection inside of it. He decided that this was a better use for it. "And now the other thing! Open this one."

She looked confused again at first. It was a simple watch, silver-chained and a plain analogue design.

Lena reached over and started to put it on Alex's wrist. "Press this."

She gasped at the sight of the expanding watch. "You didn't."

Winn wrapped his arm around Lena's shoulders and they both grinned. "Oh we did."

It was Alex's turn to grin as she walked around. There were different settings, an invisible barrier, a cuff that could let her talk to anyone back at the DEO holographically, and one that would give her instant information on any alien that they were dealing with. She hugged the two. "This is amazing. Thank you."

Most of the group left soon after that, with the exception of Eliza and Kara. Eliza made sure that Alex was okay on everything before heading back to her apartment in Midvale, while Kara changed to sleep on the couch. They were glad Alex was here, in her bed, safe and resting before anything else happened with Jeremiah. Everything would be okay for now.

"You okay?" Maggie tidied up the apartment before crawling into bed with Alex.

"Yeah. Just tired now. Thank you again for all of this."

"We all love you. We're just glad you're here."

"I am too. Cuddles?"

"Yeah." Maggie smiled for the hundredth time today. "Goodnight Kara!"

"Goodnight!"

Later that night, Alex couldn't fall asleep. She had Maggie on the other side of the bed, but she felt suffocated. She saw flashes of Jeremiah attacking her, punching, kicking, slamming her against the wall and throwing her. She couldn't stop her emotions, resulting in heavy breathing, shaking, tears. She tried to cover her mouth to muffle her crying but Maggie woke up.

"Oh sweetie." Maggie pulled Alex into a hug and she let all of her tears come out. Kara got up and sat on the other side of her sister, putting her head on her back. Alex was far from okay, and they knew that, but they didn't know her emotions would surface so fast. So soon.

"I can't breathe." Alex shook, her sobs racking her whole body, now seeing nothing but her father.

"Just focus on us, Alex. Focus on your friends, me, Eliza, Maggie. Focus on breathing. Breathe with me, okay? Please, Alex. Look at me." Kara gently turned Alex over and put their foreheads together. Alex looked up slowly, breaths slowing, breaths becoming lighter, becoming steadier.

"It's okay. Everything is okay. You're here. You're safe. You're with Kara and I." Maggie spooned the taller brunette, giving Kara a worried look. "We're going to stay like this. You between us. Safe and sound, yeah?"

Alex exhaled. "Yeah."

And slowly she fell back asleep. Fell asleep cuddled between Kara and Maggie.

A few minutes passed by and quietly Kara whispered, "Maggie, what are we going to do?"

"I don't know. We'll be there for her. It's going to be hard, but we'll do this. We're here, and we'll help her get through this."

They wouldn't fall asleep that night, too scared for Alex. They knew it was only the beginning of their fears, their troubles, but for now, they would be there to hold her.


	10. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter chapter again, but I'm getting a little writer's block to bridge this into the next part (which I definitely know what I want to do).
> 
> I do have an idea for an alternate Earth though so keep your eyes peeled for that one (or twoshot!)

It had been a week with the same recurring nightmare.

It had been a week of Kara and Maggie holding Alex during the night, the same way that they had been the first time Jeremiah had resurfaced in Alex's dreams.

It had been a week of Alex insisting she was okay, she was herself, she was ready to join the fight, but on the inside she was broken. Broken because of the lies her father had told her, because of what she had been through, because of the month she couldn't be there to protect her sister, her friends, Maggie. And during the day, she would be okay, she would be herself, but there was something about nights that didn't allow her to.

Kara and Maggie did their best to get Alex into a normal routine. Helping her through her physical therapy, helping her sort out her feelings, helping her get back to where she needed to be. There was no doubt that things would be even more complicated when Jeremiah returned, and they still didn't know what it would mean for Alex. How she'd feel then.

"I'm fine. So I had a few nightmares, but I'm fine. I can fight." Alex argued with J'onn as soon as two weeks had passed. It took two weeks for her to slowly get over the nightmares that kept haunting her. It took two weeks for her to let Kara sleep in her own apartment, for the three of them all to go back to work. She was allowed to return as an operative agent, but couldn't physically or mentally be on the field yet.

"What you need to do is keep focusing on yourself. I can read your mind, they're not just nightmares, Alex."

"It's exactly what they are!"

Suddenly Winn ran up to the two. "Guys, there's something you should see."

As soon as they got to the center of HQ, Winn pulled up a surveillance video. It was Jeremiah attacking an NCPD unit, throwing them like they were pieces of paper, slamming them against walls all to get through to some sort of warehouse. Alex pulled her phone out and dialed Maggie.

"Maggie, it's my father. He attacked the NCPD, the warehouse on Brooks Ave, get down there now!" She turned to leave.

"Alex you're not going!" J'onn held her by the shoulder.

"He's my father! If anyone can get through to him it's me!"

"He also almost beat you to death because you didn't think that he could have been a threat!"

Alex stopped. A tense silence filled the air, both Alex and J'onn contemplating what to say next.

J'onn spoke quietly, trying to break their heated argument. "I just can't have you be in more danger than you already put yourself in. You're still not 100 percent."

"I can tell myself when I'm not able to fight or when I can't do it anymore, I promise. Please J'onn, I just told Maggie to go down there. If something happens to her, if _he_ hurts her, I don't know what I'd do." There was a plead in Alex's eyes, something that even J'onn couldn't deny. He scanned Alex's mind and knew that there was truth to what she said, that she could handle pulling herself out.

"Fine, but the minute you see anything, the minute you feel like you can't handle it, call me or Kara. Get out of there as fast as you can, and if you can't handle this, make sure he doesn't see you. Make sure you don't let your guard down this time. I need you to be safe, Alex." J'onn's parental instincts came through. He had already lost two of his daughters and couldn't lose another one. "Get equipped, and don't forget that suit Winn and Lena made you. I'm trusting you Alex, don't put yourself into any more danger than you can handle."

"I won't, I promise."

Alex turned her heel and ran to the artillery. She had her watch, and now she slipped her bulletproof vest, holsters and anything else she may need on. She stood there for a moment, making sure she was ready to face her father, ready to fight him, ready to kill him if she needed to. If it had come down to it, if it had come down to Maggie and Jeremiah, she'd have to make a choice, and it terrified her.

She drove to the fight, not stopping. She used the sirens to evade any traffic, wanting to get there as fast as she could. The scene in front of her would be typical, the NCPD cornered around a threat, but this time, it was her father. She spotted Maggie out of the corner of her eye hiding behind crates and ran.

Maggie looked up and pointed her gun towards the footsteps, instantly lowering it when she saw who it was. "Danvers! What are you doing here?"

"I begged J'onn to come. I think Kara's on her way. I needed to make sure you were safe, that he didn't hurt you."

"I'm alright. As you can see, we're in some kind of standoff, but he won't speak. I'm trying to see if I can read him at all." They looked onto the scene again. Jeremiah had stopped attacking the officers, but was trying to do something. Maggie couldn't tell if he was himself or not still, while Alex just looked on. Suddenly, they heard footsteps.

There was a metallic, almost robotic tone in his voice, cold as ice. "I know you're there, Alexandra Caroline Danvers. Come with me. Just come out and this will all be over. Your friends and family won't be hurt, just obey your father."

Alex moved to get up, Maggie holding her back. "You can't go out there, Danvers!"

"I'm going to end this one way or another."

"No, you're not! Not yet. I just got you back." Maggie pleaded. "I can't lose you. Not this quickly, not now."

"I'll be okay. I promise. Ride or die?"

"Dammit Danvers." Maggie pulled her into a quick kiss. "Ride or die. I swear to god if you get yourself killed though I'll kick your ass."

"I'll be back quickly." With that, Alex ran out.

"I'm right here, _Jeremiah_. Now, what do you want?"

Maggie noticed another flicker in Jeremiah's eyes before he spoke again.

"My Alex. I see that you healed. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you that much."

"You're not my father. You're brainwashed."

"For my own good. Aren't you glad Cadmus has returned, better than ever?"

Maggie's eyes widened. She quickly pulled out her phone.

**Maggie:** J'onn, it's Cadmus. Jeremiah, or whoever it is brainwashing him, just confirmed it. Alex and Jeremiah are confronting each other.

**J'onn:** Sending a strike team now.

"So you're behind this, Luthor? Come out and fight me yourself you coward!"

"Oh that's not an option. I _am_ Jeremiah Danvers. Besides, you, my beautiful dau-"

"I am _not_ your daughter! I won't fight you like this, why don't you send your boss out?" Alex did everything in her power not to break down and cry. She held her fists and trembled.

"Oh she's occupied. And I figured it would be more fun to see you, take you back where you belong, make up for lost time."

"I'm not going back with you."

A string of gunshots rang out. "We have you cornered, Danvers! Surrender now!"

"I see you brought backup. Remember Alex, I love you, but this isn't over."

With that, Jeremiah flew away again.

"_Dammit!"_


	11. Repercussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - This is the bridge into the next "arc" of the story. I'm changing it up to what I initially was planning, and it probably is another short chapter. Work has been slamming me with hours but I'm trying my best with updating.

Days were starting to get back to normal. Kara had gone back home and to work, Alex had gotten back into her routine as an operative agent at the DEO, and Maggie was getting back to work as well. Alex's legs had healed, her walking with a slight limp in her left leg. Maggie still kept a watchful eye on Alex, but it had been getting better. Her and Alex were starting to get intimate again, adjusting to the changes that had taken place over the course of the past few weeks. Kara was no longer there as another pair of eyes to take care of Alex, and it took some adjusting for her to stop living with Maggie after the bond they had formed during her sister's coma. It was all becoming normal until Alex saw her father again.

It had been three days since Alex's confrontation with Jeremiah. Another night had gone by, and Alex couldn't stop cursing herself out. Another night of pain, longing for a bottle of scotch, seething with rage. Another night where Alex couldn't save her father. She trembled at the thought, anxiety-ridden and still fuming with anger and hatred towards Cadmus. _You took my father away from me, you tried to kill my sister, what else do you want?_

The confrontation resulted in Alex closing herself off to the people around her. She couldn't let her rage hurt other people, she couldn't be responsible for anything she said. She told herself that she was weak, and that she couldn't save anyone. Everyone had tried to get through to her, but even J'onn said that there was no use. It hurt to see her in so much pain.

"_You can't do anything to make her feel better?" Kara asked with worry._

"_Alex has completely shut herself out. You need to make sure she knows she isn't worthless. That's what she's feeling right now. She's suppressing all of her feelings down, bottling them up. While I can read her mind I can't make her feel better."_

"_For now we just have to be there for her. I can tell it's been taking a rough toll on her mental and physical health. She barely wants to eat, and I know she's not sleeping at night." Maggie chimed in._

"_She's scared the nightmares will come back."_

"_Do you want me to come back and stay longer?"_

"_No, Alex will shut herself out even more I feel like. She's trying to get through this herself, and I disagree with her that she can. But as much as I think you should come back to stay with us, we both know that it'll take a bigger toll on Alex's independence. We just have to try and distract her. _

Kara thought donuts and a movie night would help if she was up for it.

Maggie thought cuddling would help if she was up for it.

Winn, James and Lena thought a game night would help if she was up to it, but she never was.

Nothing seemed to help. Nothing anyone said or did would cause Alex to be up for anything. Nothing seemed to help Alex get through the pain of letting her father get away, letting her father hurt Maggie's friends. She contemplated what she'd do if he hurt _Maggie_, but couldn't even bring herself to that conclusion.

"Danvers." Maggie's voice was softer than ever. She joined the DEO director on the couch, mindlessly watching TV. "What's on your mind, Alex?"

"My head hurts."

"That's not it. What else?"

"I couldn't stop him. I should have. He hurt your friends. He almost killed McConnell."

"But they're okay. And McConnell's okay. He's on a bunch of meds, he's having a hay day in the hospital."

"I froze."

"What?"

"I could have stopped him. I should have the second I found out it was Lillian Luthor behind all of it. I mean, Cadmus is back."

"Oh honey. You had no way of knowing."

"I don't know. Maybe I would have if we didn't wait so long."

"It's not your fault." Maggie pulled Alex into a hug and kissed her head. "No matter what you think, this was not your fault at all."

"I can't eat. I can't sleep. I just keep thinking about him. Where he is, who he'll hurt next. God, if it was you he hurt I don't know what I could have done." Tears were forming in Alex's eyes.

"But he didn't hurt me. Cadmus won't touch me. This will be over soon enough. We'll get your dad back, Luthor will be back in jail and Cadmus won't be anything anymore."

Maggie sighed, still holding her girlfriend. "I wish I could make you feel better. Clear your head."

"I don't know if anything will, Mags. Not anytime soon." Her stomach growled.

"Why don't I get you some food? Maybe you won't feel better but it'll at least make that headache go away."

Alex chuckled and nodded. "Want me to go with you?"

"No, you need to rest. I'll be back soon. I'm going to get you some of those fries from the bar, yeah?"

"Yeah, sounds good, Mags." Alex kissed her.

Maggie got up to get her purse and put her jacket on. "I'll be back in twenty." With that, she walked out and shut the door behind her.

Alex looked towards the door and sighed. _What did I do to deserve her?_

Five minutes later, Maggie reached the bar when a bright light startled her. She slowly turned around, reaching for her gun.

"Margarita Elena Sawyer. I'm surprised you don't have your other half with you." She recognized that voice. _No, it couldn't be._

"The hell are you doing here?" Maggie held her gun out to the shadow.

"I came here for you."

"How did you know I was here?"

"I've been keeping an eye on you and Alex. Kara too, but she's not important right now."

"What do you mean right now? Don't you think coming to a place where everyone hates you would be a terrible idea?"

"Well, unlike you I didn't come alone."

Three more shadows came into Maggie's view. They were armed with alien technology.

"Why don't you fight me yourself, Lillian? You're a coward, just like Alex said to you while you were brainwashing her father."

"I don't need to waste my breath on you. You'll join our cause soon enough. Take her away, boys."

Maggie shot her gun, but Lillian's henchmen struck back. The NCPD detective felt an electric shock in her chest and collapsed. It only took one hit and Maggie was out cold.

"Welcome to Cadmus."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally I planned for Maggie to get captured inside the bar, but I figured this might be easier to the story. Then I thought about Alex and Maggie having a fight but didn't want to do that right now either. Alex would have 100% fought back if she was nearby, and probably would have won too.


	12. Ride or Die

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slight plot twist at the end, but you can probably tell what will happen. Thanks for all of your kudos!

"I should have said yes to going with her, this never would have happened. Cadmus and Lillian took her and they're going to do the same thing that they did to Dad and what am I going to do Kara?" Alex was rambling, and Kara knew she wasn't okay.

"Alex, it's going to be okay. Just breathe for a second, okay?"

"I can't, Kara! If they're after me why didn't they just take me when they had the chance? Why are they torturing me? Why do they keep taking the people I love away? What are they going to do, take you or Mom away next?"

It had been an hour since Maggie was supposed to be home with Alex's food from the bar. Maggie was never late and Alex was worried, losing her appetite in the process instead replaced by anxiety. After twenty minutes, when she should have been back, there was no text or call to let Alex know otherwise, and she knew Maggie was in trouble. She knew she could be anywhere by the time she realized, by the time she called Kara. They had tracked her phone, leading it to the bar, and found it laying outside. When they picked it up, there was a note on the screen: _Come find me._ Darla told the pair that she had never come in, sending Alex into even more worry.

Winn had checked the surveillance footage, surprisingly undamaged. There, Alex saw Lillian confronting her girlfriend, Maggie being tased and thrown into a van. She saw Lillian put the note inside of Maggie's phone, and the pair drove off. They were soon unable to track where the van had gone, using some sort of cloaking technology.

"Alex, you have to calm down. J'onn, Winn and James are doing their best to find where they took her. They're going through every inch section in National City, hell, they're looking all over the state. I know it's been an hour, but they couldn't have gone that far."

Suddenly, Alex shot her head up. "The ship."

"Where Jeremiah was?"

She nodded. "Fly me there."

Kara took Alex into her arms and flew her sister to the spot she found her near-death a month ago. They landed through the hole Kara left, and there was nothing. Kara listened for any signs of Maggie, a heartbeat, a yell, anything, and there was nothing.

"She's not here."

"Dammit!" Alex looked up at the seemingly broken cameras, seething with hatred and vengeance. "Luthor! I know you have her! I will find you, and I'll kill you!"

* * *

Maggie woke up to bright lights. She had remembered being knocked out, remembered being hauled into a van. She had remembered Cadmus and a very harsh pain in her chest.

"Wh- where am I?" She found herself in the same clothes she left with, minus her phone and her gun. She was surprisingly unrestrained, and sat up in what seemed like a hospital bed. She looked at her surroundings, an eerie hospital setting. There were cameras and guards at every corner, at the door. One caught her eye. It was Jeremiah with the same cold eyes he had when he was attacking Alex. _Still under your spell._

"Cadmus. I gave you your welcomes, don't you remember? Are you ready to work for us? Actually, ready or not, you have to." Lillian stepped out from another doorway.

"I won't do _anything_ for you, you bitch." Maggie could taste the hatred coming out of her mouth.

"Maybe not for us, but you would for _Alex_." Lillian smirked. "I know they're looking for you right now. And they'll find us soon enough."

"The hell are we anyway?"

"Under the bar. They won't even suspect it, until they get my daughter's help. Or if they're smart enough. But you'll be long gone anyway."

"So your plan is to kill me?"

"Oh quite the contrary. Do you really want to know?"

Maggie said nothing.

"I'll tell you anyway, not that you'll care once the setup is complete. My plan is to break Alexandra Danvers. I won't kill her, but she's smart. She's a good fighter, she's a doctor, her and I are more alike than she realizes. I'll take everyone until she agrees to join our cause, doing it by force two months ago would have been much harder. She'll join our cause, we won't even have to brainwash her, and she'll convince her sister to leave this planet for good. After that, there's no reason why I should kill you, her father or her. My work will be done."

"So it's all because of Supergirl."

"Yes. Isn't it a great plan?"

Again, Maggie said nothing.

Lillian walked closer to Maggie, holding up a gun. "You see, when we shot you with this gun, it had already injected a neurotransmitter into your brain. Once I click this switch, everything you do or say will be under my control. You won't be able to fight it and you won't be able to cut it out of your head, it's already embedded into your cerebrum. The only way to stop it is if you die." She chuckled and stood up. "If you want to save Alex, save Jeremiah, yourself from all of this in the end, you'll agree. Or don't. I don't really care. I'll give you a few minutes to think before I turn this on." She left the room after that.

Maggie stared as Lillian walked away. She was the one threatening her life, her girlfriend's life, her whole family. All for Kara. She knew she couldn't say anything, do anything. She had to think before it was turned on. She knew she couldn't shout for help, couldn't scream, couldn't fight, that would just make Lillian turn it on faster.

She just sat on the bed, thinking to herself, _Alex._

* * *

"Winn, did you find anything?"

"There's heat signatures that match Maggie's in the bar. Go back there! Be careful, it could be a trap."

It had been twenty minutes, and Alex wouldn't rest until they found Maggie.

Alex was on the move before Kara could even tell her. Kara ran after her. "Alex. Alex! You can't go in there alone! You're not even armed."

"Fine. Stay behind me, Kara." Alex flicked her wrist and Winn's hologram technology showed up. She adjusted the screen until she saw James. "James, you ready?"

"I'll be there in a few. I'm circling back from the other side of the city. Go though, you don't know how much time you have."

Alex held her gun and slowly opened the bar door. Everything seemed normal. Drinks were being served, and no signs of Maggie.

"She's not here, Winn! J'onn?"

"I'm looking at the exact thing Winn is. She's there. Kara, check the roof."

Kara was in and out in a matter of seconds. "Nothing."

Alex took matters into her own hands and stood on top of the bar. "Everyone! Maggie Sawyer is missing. Please. Tell me if you know anything at all. You all know me, I'm sure, and yeah I might be awful compared to her but help me out."

The bar was silent and Kara heard something.

People slowly resumed talking, only for Kara to silence them again. "Hey! Quiet for a second!"

She looked up at Alex. "They're underneath the bar." Kara bent down and tore open a floorboard, quickly yelling towards M'gann that she'd pay her back later.

"Maggie!" Alex jumped through the floor.

Lillian turned around.

"Alex Danvers. You're just in time to see the magic." Lillian smiled as she pressed a button. There was pain in Maggie's eyes when she looked at Alex.

"Alex, it's too late. I-"

Within seconds, Maggie's eyes became dark red, expressionless. Kara had jumped in just in time to see the change and pulled Alex back.

Lillian spoke again, this time with Maggie in unison. "It's time to join Cadmus, Alex. Ride or die."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do realize the whole trapped and the villain tells the whole master plan is rather cheesy, but trust me on this one! New chapter will hopefully be out tomorrow.


	13. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Kara deal with the repercussions of Maggie being taken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of the chapter has some inspiration from Grey's from when Cristina was in a similar state (see episode 9x02). It also has a small easter egg towards the end too!

Alex fell to her knees, broken at what was happening before her eyes. It was worse than if Lillian killed either of them right then and there, or if they took her away to join the cause. It was one of the most painful sights Alex had ever seen, standing helpless as Maggie became another one of Cadmus's brainwashed humans. She saw her father in the corner of her eye, carrying the same emotionless expression Maggie now had.

"I'm surprised you found us so quickly without my daughter's help. We purposely drove away and cloaked ourselves so that it would confuse you. Anyway, you do see how this is going to go, right? Join our cause or we'll have to pick our next human. But if you do join us, once this is all over Maggie and Jeremiah here will be all yours, and you can have your whole life ahead of you. Come find me later. I don't think you'll regret it. Let's go."

Maggie, Lillian, Jeremiah and the guards seemed to vanish into thin air. Kara thought to herself that it was the same transmat technology Rhea used to get to Mon-El. It meant that they could be anywhere now.

She pulled her phone out to call Winn. "Winn, it's me. I need some analysts down at the bar. I'm coming back with Alex. I'll have Darla and M'gann meet the rest of the team here."

As soon as Kara hung up, she knelt down beside Alex, who looked like someone who had just lost her world. "Hey. We have to go. Come on, Alex. We're going to find Maggie and Jeremiah. I promise." There was tenderness in Kara's words, and soft, gentle eyes looked at her older sister.

"I can't move, Kara." Alex mumbled, barely audible even with Kara's super hearing. She was still staring at the place where Maggie was a few moments ago.

"I'll help you." Kara slowly lifted her sister up, carrying her bridal style. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

Once the pair arrived at the DEO, Alex stood solemnly, hair in her eyes, staring into space. She didn't care about the worried eyes on her or J'onn picking her up and bringing her to the medbay. She couldn't even think about her father, only Maggie, her expression, the way Lillian Luthor had changed it in an instant. No matter what the outcome was, Alex knew her life had changed.

She thought about what Lillian had said, but couldn't bring herself to leave Kara or J'onn. There was no guarantee that if she had joined that they would be safe. _No, they probably wouldn't_, Alex had thought to herself. _Would anyone be safe now? They'll probably kill Dad, Maggie, J'onn and Kara all before they kill me. What am I going to do? _Alex put her head in her hands.

Outside of the medbay, J'onn had everyone on duty meet around the center of HQ. Supergirl and Winn stayed in the back listening contently.

"Alright listen up, team. Some of you may know that a revived Cadmus has been confirmed. You all know that Director Danvers was attacked two months ago by Jeremiah Danvers, and less than a week ago we heard the news of what was behind it. Lillian Luthor is back and more dangerous than ever since she knows of our existence. She has powerful means of getting whatever it is that she wants." J'onn cleared his throat. "Just an hour ago, Cadmus has now taken Maggie Sawyer, an ally and more importantly the girlfriend of Director Danvers. They're after her for some reason and we must protect her at all costs so she doesn't lose any more people."

Kara stepped forward. "What we do know is that whatever technology they used to brainwash Jeremiah they used on Maggie and who knows how many other people. They were in something under the alien bar, almost like an operating room, and even the bartenders didn't know about it so we don't know how it got there. That location as well as above ground has to be guarded at all times, so if there's any sign of their return there they won't hurt anyone else. They're also using transmat portals like the ones the Daxamites used. Wi- Agent Schott is going to assemble a team to help see if we can locate anything. Please, help Alex. I know you might not all get along with me but I know you all look up to her. So help us get them home safely, for Alex."

There were murmurs and nods coming from all around the DEO. Everyone agreed that they wanted to help Alex, and that most of them would die for the director. They all knew it was going to be a tough fight, but that they'd get through it.

J'onn spoke again. "Alright, we've given you your assignments through your stations. Let's get to work. The sooner we find them, the sooner we'll know what's going on." He turned around and walked into the medbay to see Alex.

"I need to be out there helping." Alex was still mumbling. She was wrapped in Maggie's NCPD jacket and hadn't looked up from the ground.

"I can't let you do that. You're putting your personal feelings in the way and who knows what could happen then? I can't have you doing anything that will risk your life, Alex."

"What do I do? I can't sit around doing nothing. I should've just gone with them. I should have done whatever they wanted and then we could be home right now. Everything would have gone back to normal."

"There's no guarantee that would have happened. They could have killed us all, you included. I don't know why they're doing this to you but I do know that it's already taken a toll on your health. Kara's going to stay home with you and take care of you for now. You can do other ops work here but I can't let you go into the field for now. It's too risky, I'm sorry."

Alex couldn't do anything but nod. She was still fighting back tears, squeezing her eyes shut and fighting too hard not to let everything out.

Kara came in and sat next to her. "Come on. Let's go home. We'll figure the rest out tomorrow."

"I'll keep you updated. I'm sorry this is happening to you, Alex."

* * *

Another two hours had passed and Alex wouldn't move off of Kara's couch. She was cuddling Maggie's jacket, praying that every gust of wind, every siren, anything was a sign that it was all some twisted dream.

Kara had brought Alex to her apartment, helped her shower, change into her pajamas and eat. She knew that Alex wouldn't be able to bear being in her own apartment, just like Maggie when Alex was still in her coma. She could barely do anything, not being able to cope with the new loss. Kara was upset too, losing her surrogate sister, the one she bonded with for so long.

Kara sat next to her sister, pulling her into her chest and cuddling her. They mindlessly watched TV as each of their minds wandered off into different places, thinking about Maggie and Jeremiah, where they might be at, what Cadmus wants with them. Kara had thought about the past couple of hours, how she had to pull Alex away from the sight of Maggie vanishing, how she had to tell James what happened again, how she made the call to Maggie's captain.

"_Kara, is everything alright?"_

"_Um. Not really. We're fine physically but Lillian Luthor and Cadmus are back. They were the ones behind Jeremiah's brainwashing, which you probably heard. Tonight they took Maggie before you got here."_

"_Oh my god. I should have gotten there sooner. She didn't-"_

"_No. I think they did the same thing they did to Jeremiah. I just need some more time off to take care of Alex and focus on Supergirl when they show up. I'm sorry."_

"_Take all the time that you need. Did you call Maggie's captain yet?"_

"_Not yet. I have to now. I'll call you if we need anything?"_

"_Yeah, definitely. Let me know. I'll bring Alex some food later."_

"_Thanks James."_

_Kara hung up the phone and sighed before dialing the captain of the NCPD Science Division._

"_Captain Michaels. How can I help you?"_

"_Hi Captain. This is Kara Danvers. I uh have to call on behalf of Maggie Sawyer."_

"_Is she alright?"_

"_Um, no. Remember when Cadmus had appeared and taken all of the aliens? Well they're currently working to brainwash some humans. They're back again and brainwashed my father. Alex, her girlfriend, she's my sister and he actually was the one who attacked her."_

"_Oh my god, I'm sorry Kara."_

"_They're out to get her somehow. They took Maggie tonight. Supergirl is working to find her, but for now I need to know if you'll let her take a leave of absence again. I'm hoping that she'll find her before it's too late."_

"_Yeah, that's fine. If you can, please keep me updated, and let me know if you need anything."_

"_I'll try. Thank you, Captain."_

_Kara hung up the phone and turned to Alex. "Alright, I'm going to help you shower and get ready for bed." She slowly guided Alex into the bathroom and helped her take her clothes off. As she eased her into the tub, Kara thought to herself that Alex was worse now than when she first got home after she was attacked. She knew that Alex was in some kind of state, and hadn't talked to Kara since they got home. _

_Kara gently took the soapy water and slowly poured it across Alex's back, scarred from all of the times she was fighting aliens or protecting Kara. She started to talk to her sister, gently, quietly. "We're going to find Maggie and Jeremiah and bring them home. You'll help us, I know you will. You'll be stronger when we know what we're up against. I know J'onn's limiting you to ops but you'll be able to fight soon enough."_

_She slowly tilted Alex's head back, washing her hair. "I know you, Alex. You'll fight to protect everyone you love. You've done it for me, you've risked your life for J'onn, Maggie, Jeremiah, Eliza. You're so strong Alex. You can take all the time that you need. We'll find them soon, I promise. Once we do, you can propose and everything will be normal again hopefully. We all love you and want you to be happy." _

Kara sighed deeply. It had been a half hour and she heard Alex's breathing regulate, sleeping. She decided that she would stay up, ready for any nightmares that would arise, not that she'd be able to sleep much herself. She stroked Alex's hair, something she always liked when she actually showed that she was in pain. It hurt Kara to see Alex in this state, not being able to talk, to move, to live.

"I'm here for you. I promise we'll find them soon. I love you and you'll be okay. We're going to stop Cadmus, stop Lillian, and we'll go back to normal DEO business."

For now, Kara had to cherish Alex sleeping peacefully. It wouldn't be easy for either of them in the next few weeks, but everything had to end one way or another. She could only hope that it would be soon, and that she'd be able to keep her promise. It wouldn't be easy, and she knew that there would be bloodshed, but she had to believe that Maggie and Jeremiah would come back alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to be working again for the next couple of days, so I may not update as fast. Again, thank you for all of your kudos! I promise it will get better with the next few chapters.


	14. Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So silly me pulled an all nighter and made a trailer the other day. It doesn't make 100% sense with what I want to do with the fic but if any of you do want to see it let me know! It's currently 5AM where I live when I'm starting this, so I'm sorry if this doesn't make total sense. (From the trailer,) what Maggie is saying is loosely from the show Floriana Lima was in called Lethal Weapon. This bridges into the final part of the story, so thank you for sticking with me. I'm pretty invested in this story, and I'm thankful for your reads and reviews!

The days that had passed were restless for Alex. She was still in a state of psychosis, unable to wake up from the nightmare of her father and girlfriend being taken by Cadmus.

On the nights she had fallen asleep, it would end with her jolting awake in a cold sweat.

Tonight happened to be one of those nights.

_Alex woke up on a cold concrete ground. The sight was hazy around her but looked all too familiar. Rick Malverne and his contraption. Fabricated memories of her being put into a Cadmus van were in her mind, and she couldn't help but wonder why. She saw a figure walking towards her. _

"_There you are. I've been waiting for you."_

"_Maggie?" Alex rubbed her eyes. It was all too vivid for her to be dreaming. Her voice sounded hoarse from not talking for so long, while the sound of her girlfriend's voice was still as soft as ever. _

"_It's me."_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Is this real?"_

"_No, babe. But it could be."_

_Alex stood up, still looking at the blurry figure. "What do you mean?"_

"_You're supposed to be here with me."_

"_But I am."_

"_You need to wake up. You have to join Cadmus."_

"_No. No, Maggie. I can't do this dream again." Alex was horrified at Maggie's mentioning of Cadmus._

"_Do you still love me?"_

"_Of course I do, but not like this. Not when this nightmare is too vivid. The real Maggie Sawyer has been brainwashed." She backed up into the corner as "Maggie" inched closer. _

"_I still love you, regardless, forever."_

"_Maggie, or whoever you are, no. I can't. How do I even know that you're still alive?"_

"_I'm so alive, Alex. Look at all the things we can do together if you join me and your father."_

_Maggie held Alex's shoulders. Instead of the warm butterflies Alex had usually received, her hands were cold. Maggie stared into Alex's eyes, and looking back Alex could see different scenarios: Lillian telling her to blow up a road with NCPD officers on it, shooting at DEO officers, hurting Kara. _

_Alex squeezed her eyes shut._

_Kara._

Kara had woken up to soft whimpers of pain from Alex. She looked over and saw her tossing and turning, tears running down her cheeks and heard her heartbeat was erratic.

"Alex!" Kara shook her older sister. "Alex, wake up."

"_Alex, this isn't you! You wouldn't do this. You have to be stronger than this!"_

_Alex opened her eyes and found her over her sister, with the Kryptonite sword she used to kill Astra, and then almost kill Kara under Myriad. She found herself inching the sword closer and closer to Kara's throat._

"_Kara, I can't stop this. You have to take me out."_

"_No. I won't do that. I-"_

_Whatever was controlling Alex's body wouldn't let her sister finish the sentence._

Alex finally woke up shivering. She looked at Kara next to her, eyes filled with concern. She finally broke out of her state and broke down into Kara's arms.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Kara." Alex said between sobs.

"What are you sorry about? It was all a nightmare. You're safe, you're here with me."

"I killed you. I killed you and you probably hate me for it."

"Alex what? I could never hate you. You're my sister and I love you." Kara pulled Alex tight and kissed her forehead. "What else happened in your nightmare?"

"I saw her."

"Who? Maggie?"

"She told me to join Cadmus. She told me that I could have a good life. I don't know what to do Kara. What am I going to do?"

Kara was heartbroken watching Alex's state. She pulled her sister even tighter and tried to calm her down. "Alex, I'm here. I'm here and we'll find them."

"What if they're dead?"

"They aren't. I promise they aren't."

"They're brainwashed though. What if they're brainwashed and Cadmus just has them hanging by a thread?"

"No. Don't think like that."

"I just don't know what to do." Alex was still crying hysterically, overwhelmed by her nightmare, the thoughts racing through her mind, _Maggie and Jeremiah_. She was lost beyond control.

"Just let it out. Let it all out and you'll be stronger for it. We'll find Maggie and Jeremiah, we'll get them back. You will be stronger soon. I'm so proud of you for being so strong already."

Kara held Alex until she cried herself to sleep. She thought to herself, _what am I going to do?_

* * *

A week passed the nightmare and Alex had started to talk. She started to chuckle at Winn's jokes, talked when Kara asked about her day, talked to Lena about science. Anything Alex did was to keep her mind off of Maggie and Jeremiah, waiting for the inevitable day Cadmus would take her too.

J'onn had allowed Alex to observe at the DEO. She'd train with him every day, making her both physically and mentally stronger. She knew that she had to put a block on her mind when it came to fighting Maggie and Jeremiah, something that could kill her if she forgot that it was Cadmus they were really fighting.

He had agreed to shapeshift into the two some days when Alex really needed to focus. _It's Cadmus. It's not really them._ Every time she reminded herself, the more angry she became. J'onn took it as a good sign, that Alex was still going, still fighting to protect who she loves.

"Good job, Alex." J'onn shapeshifted back from Maggie. "Whenever we face Cadmus, you'll be okay. We'll get them back." Everyone had reminded Alex that they vowed to get Maggie and Jeremiah back. It was important for her to know that, to know that they weren't going to be another DEO casualty, to know that they were still people under Cadmus's brainwashing.

Alex sighed at J'onn's words. She was still feeling conflicted about when the time came to fight them. She had still been fighting the rage that was in the back of her mind, the anxiety coursing through her body, but she had become stronger. She had taken Kara's words to heart, fighting and training to take Cadmus down once and for all.

"Sir, maam, we have an update." Vasquez came in rushing her sentence. They knew it was urgent.

Alex was taken aback at the sight. On the monitor were Maggie and Jeremiah, in the same fashion Cadmus had first appeared to them so many years ago.

"Residents of National City, we're coming to take back what's ours." Maggie's voice was hollow. "Bring Alex Danvers to us, and we will not harm anyone else. For now." Both her and Jeremiah had the same expressionless faces, no emotion, no feeling.

Alex's eyes widened.

"My daughter, if you're listening, come find us. We won't hurt anyone else if you do. 15 West, 5:00."

The screen turned back to its normal monitors.

"They're a terrorist organization. Why isn't the government doing anything?" Kara stepped forward and asked J'onn.

"They are, but they're leaving most of it to us. Our job is to protect aliens of Earth, and that's what we have to do. We're the government too, remember."

"I have to go."

"No, you're not going. Alex, we've been training so you can fight. We're training so that when they do strike, you'll be ready to bring them back."

"Why the hell do they still want me?"

"We don't know, which is why we'll figure it out."

* * *

Hours passed from when the message was sent. Alex checked her watch, 6:00. Nothing had happened. She was safe in the DEO, Kara was waiting in her own apartment, J'onn in Alex's, if they were to strike. Alex had thought about the possibility of them knowing where the DEO was, the one in the cave. The one that she was hiding safely from inside central intelligence with a multitude of agents, a whole arsenal of weapons, ready in case anyone was to break in.

In the few hours, Kara had finally told Lena what was going on with her mother after the broadcast. That she was the one behind her sister's girlfriend's kidnapping, her adoptive father's brainwashing. Lena wasn't surprised, wasn't upset, but she was angry. Alex had saved her life and protected her multiple times, and she knew that she would get to work to get the brainwashing technology out of their heads before it was too late.

"Any signs of Cadmus over there?" Alex was fidgeting with nothing to do but wait.

"No. I flew over 15 West and there was nothing. It was probably a trap. Winn, any update on the transmat portals? Heat signatures? Anything?"

"Not yet. I'm working to get those online still."

"I'll check to see if Lena has anything." J'onn flew across to L Corp.

There was a flash and all of the agents in the cave jumped. "J'onn, Kara, something just flashed here."

"We're on our way."

"No, not yet. We don't know what it was."

Another flash. _A flash grenade. Maggie._

"Okay, yeah come now! Everyone hold your fire and check your six. Get in your formations and split up."

Alex led her squad down the stairs. Her hands were shaky as she knew what she was about to face. She held her gun and slowly opened the door.

"There you are. I've been waiting for you." Deja vu from the nightmares filled Alex's memory. "Why'd you keep me waiting so long?"

Maggie threw another flash grenade down and Alex felt a tug.

As the light cleared and the squad adjusted their eyes, Vasquez looked around her.

"Where's Director Danvers?"


	15. Disarm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will unfortunately become even more sparse in the next few weeks! I'm preparing to go back to school and then I'll be starting classes. There's only a handful of chapters left, but they're going to be good, I promise (or I hope anyway)! Thank you for your continued reading and reviews!

"Where's Director Danvers?"

Vasquez looked around, her and the other agents worried about their squad leader and director.

"Supergirl, come in. This is Vasquez, we just lost Alex."

"What do you mean lost?" Kara's voice filled with worry, looking at J'onn.

"No, no, not that kind of lost. Cadmus Maggie took her. We don't know where she went though. There's almost thirty sub-levels of the cave to look in, but we've been in lockdown since the flashes."

"Start looking. J'onn and I will find a way in without you having to cancel it. Stay safe."

"Roger that. Alright guys, let's start looking. Notify the other squads, we still the prisoners to watch and see if there's anyone else here."

* * *

"Wake up." Maggie's brainwashed voice was still stone cold as it coursed through Alex's ears.

"What the hell?" Alex was shocked when she wasn't in any pain. "Why didn't you just kill me?"

"Didn't she tell you? Join us and you get me and your father to snap out of it. We'll have our whole life ahead of us."

"You're a coward hiding behind her voice. Hiding behind her mind." The only thing she could see was Maggie, a single blue light shining down on her face. Everywhere else was dark. "Where am I?"

"You're still in this silly little cave. They shut down anything that would let us transmat out of here. Smart agents you have, aren't they?"

"Why did you come here. How the hell did you find me? I thought you were going to show up at my apartment or my sister's. You're smart too, I suppose." Alex grimaced and then let out a strangled laugh.

"We've been watching you. Waiting to play our next move. You're in check now, Alex. You're making this so much harder for me and your father." Maggie inched closer to Alex. "Didn't you get our message? Did you see everything that we could do together? Then Lillian won't bother us."

Alex realized the nightmares weren't just her dreaming. They were messages from Maggie, from Jeremiah, from Lillian Luthor somehow transmitted into her brain. "Screw you. Tormenting me while I'm sleeping. You're a freaking coward, just show yourself already!"

There was a flicker in Maggie's eyes. The _real_ Maggie. She looked down before she was seemingly taken in control again. "_Alexandra_ Caroline Danvers. We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Either kill me or we'll have to force you into our cause."

Alex flinched at her full name. Maggie had only used it to "You know I won't do either."

"So it should be easy then, hypothetically." Maggie paced around Alex, going in and out of the darkness. "You're not restrained, we specifically stunned you with the flash grenade specialized with knocking a specific target out and no pain afterwards. You are at full strength right now. I have nothing on me and you still have your pistol. You could kill me, your father with a single shot to the heart."

The thought sent a chill down Alex's spine. She could run, but she didn't even know what floor she was on. There could be twenty guards outside wherever she was put. She closed her eyes, hoping for J'onn and Kara to come now and take her and Maggie away before the situation escalated.

* * *

"How are we going to get in? The whole thing is encased with lead, I won't be able to find her. We don't even know if she's still in the building, do we?" Kara's concerns were flying a hundred miles a minute.

"I can phase us through the lead. It's where they specifically put her that's going to be hard. When the Daxamite invasion occurred, we installed transmitters that specifically blocked portals like the transmatter one. They won't be able to get out, and no one else can come in unless they're like me."

Kara nodded. "We're almost there."

J'onn pulled her close. "Remember this? This is going to feel a little weird." His flying became faster as they phased through the lead.

A startled Vasquez held her gun to the sudden intruders, lowering it when she realized who they were. "Sir, Ma'am."

"There's no damage?" J'onn looked around suspiciously.

"Not even any other Cadmus agents that we've seen." Vasquez's report was unusual. They were all wondering how a single person entered the DEO base, how she was able to stun everyone in Alex's squad long enough to take her.

"Let me see if I ca-" J'onn felt a punch to his face.

"Hostile found! Fire at will!" Vasquez, who was commanding in this situation took the first shot as J'onn fought the unknown stranger.

Kara looked and saw that it was Jeremiah. "_Dammit_." She ran towards them and fought her father as the sounds of gunfire rang out all around them.

J'onn was thrown towards the wall, temporarily disabling him, and Jeremiah grabbed Kara by the arm. He didn't speak, but the expression in his face showed that he was still brainwashed. As he motioned to throw her, Kara flipped over and kicked him in the head, pinning him down to the ground.

"Jeremiah! Snap out of this! I know it wasn't you that hurt Alex. I know you wouldn't hurt your daughters like this."

He still didn't speak as his eyes fluttered from red to brown. They became brown long enough for him to speak two words: Kara. Alex. A sudden jolt of seemingly invisible energy had him back to fighting his daughter again.

J'onn got up and ran back towards the fight. He stopped when he heard Jeremiah whispering at Kara, being held down by his throat.

"I meant everything." He laughed menacingly, staring deep into Kara's eyes. "I wanted Alex to die. I wanted to watch her suffer as she bled out, as she begged me to stop kicking and throwing her around. She's a federal agent and couldn't fight me. Even after all that happened. She was always the best part of me, but now I'm just disappointed. And _you_, Kara, you're a whole other story." He grinned as his eyes became dark, J'onn watching with shock.

The words were enough to activate Kara's heat vision. In the back of her mind, she knew it was still Lillian that was speaking, that was controlling him, but it was enough to make Kara scream in rage at Jeremiah himself.

"You bastard." She let herself punch him in the gut, not even realizing what she was doing. "You almost killed your daughter. _My sister." _Another punch. "You leave, you left us to think you died for thirteen years, come back and fight J'onn, and you hurt everyone at the DEO, right? Then you came back and you _betrayed_ us. You broke her. You come back again, you make Alex let her guard down, then you almost beat her to death. You almost took my sister!" Kara punched his face this time. "You put her in a coma for a month, left her with nightmares she couldn't even explain, broke her yet again. Then you took Maggie, another sister, one of my best friends, another person Alex loves, breaking her yet again! You hurt her, you hurt me, Eliza, J'onn, and I will not let you get away with this. I won't forgive any of you."

Kara let herself punch Jeremiah one last time. He was bleeding heavily, but it was enough to trigger something. His eyes changed again. His grin fell, and he looked up with pleading eyes.

"Kara." He coughed up blood.

The blonde looked down at what she had done. Her fist was trembling, still holding it over his face and the other arm against his throat.

"You can't trick me, Lillian."

"It's not. You just knocked me out of it."

* * *

Alex had stood up, her and Maggie circling around each other. Her gun was still holstered, hand hovering over it.

"Are you going to make a move, Danvers?"

"No. It's exactly what you want me to do."

"So? Like I said, it's me or you."

"I won't hurt you. Even if Lillian's controlling your mind, once I bring you back I want you alive."

"We'll see about that." Maggie was the first to lunge.

* * *

"What the hell?" Kara looked down and slowly pulled her arm away from Jeremiah's throat. The DEO agents around them promptly cuffed him and roughly pushed him up so he was sitting against the wall. "Who are you?"

"It's Jeremiah. I swear. And I deserved that beating." He wiped the blood off of his mouth with his shoulder. He had labored breathing, but was smiling gently, unlike before.

"What happened?"

"After the real Henshaw knocked me out that night, the night of the ship, they took me again. I was the first subject of many. I could see and I could hear, but I couldn't speak. I couldn't control what I did. I- Alex." He started to tremble, remembering what he had done to his daughter.

"How do I know what you're telling me is the truth? How do I know I can trust you?"

"I don't expect you to. I can't trust myself right now. I met with Lillian, or rather she took me to another lab of hers, and she explained to me how she was going to find Alex and kill her if she didn't join Cadmus. I couldn't do anything to stop, she put something in me that brainwashed me. Your punches somehow knocked it out, for now. She could turn it back on any second once she realizes. I tried so hard to stop myself but I couldn't."

"How can we shut it down?" J'onn stepped forward. He didn't make an effort to have the DEO agents lower their guns, him still not being able to read his mind or trust him.

"I don't know. It's in our bloodstreams. That much I know. They're neurotransmitters specifically designed to procreate in our veins. If you can create technology to shut it off, you might be able to temporarily shut it down. It doesn't mean Luthor doesn't know that though."

J'onn looked at Vasquez. "Get a team on it now. Winn, see if you can help them over holographics. We're sampling your blood, Danvers."

Winn gave an okay as Vasquez nodded and motioned for any technicians that were around to follow her.

"Be careful. I don't know if it can be transmitted through contact. All I know is I need to make this right. This needs to end soon. Where's Alex?"

"Maggie took her." Kara looked down again.

"You might have a better chance with her. The neurotransmitters haven't been in her bloodstream for that long, if I'm remembering right."

"They only took her a week or two ago."

"Then it won't be as hard to get through to her. Alex should be able to do it. I only met her for a half hour, as me anyway, but I know she loves her enough to listen."

* * *

Alex was panting as she dodged Maggie's swings. She knew Maggie every move, but so did the other. Even if she was brainwashed, she still retained her fighting mechanisms.

"Just say the word and this will all be over, Danvers."

"I won't hurt you. That much anyway. Even under all of that brainwashing you're still Maggie." Alex punched her and Maggie didn't flinch. Her mouth was bleeding, but she wiped it off with a smirk.

"Damn, Alex. You know how to throw a good punch."

"Not like you could feel it anyway, Luthor."

"I'm surprised that you're fighting me. You didn't fight your father when he hurt you. I guess I know who you love more. I guess I should expect you to kill me. I was the one who comforted you when you woke up. Did you forget all of that?"

Like Jeremiah's words to Kara, it was enough to anger Alex, though she still knew it was Lillian Luthor. She lunged at Maggie, pinning her down in a similar fashion.

"You do _not_ get to talk to me like you're her. You are not Maggie Sawyer, you are not the woman I love, the woman I want to _marry_. I was going to propose to her before you started all of this, you _bitch_. Maggie, please, come back to me. Come back to your family, the ones who love you."

As Maggie whipped her head up, Alex's collided into hers by accident. Their lips touched briefly, also by accident, enough for sparks to go off in both of their heads, their hearts.

Maggie blinked and stared at Alex. There was shock in her face, looking at her with her own eyes.

"Danvers. Whatever you did, you brought me back."


	16. Heart to Heart

Maggie dragged Alex past the hallway, tied up and a gag shoved inside her mouth. Her head was still bleeding from when she collided with Alex's, the latter's heart still racing.

"She's finally agreed to join our cause. Stay here and make sure that other prisoners don't get loose. I'm going to check on Danvers and make sure he's subdued Supergirl and J'onn J'onzz."

"Yes Ma'am." The guard in front of their door gave a nod and motioned for them to exit the building. Alex had struggled against the ties and gag, glaring at the guard.

They reached the center of the building and Maggie held Alex's gun. She poked around before reaching Jeremiah, Kara and J'onn.

"All clear." She removed the gag and ties from Alex and kissed her forehead. They slowly walked out not to scare the others, so that they knew Maggie was herself. Maggie was still being careful, knowing Lillian could turn the neurotransmitters back on at any second. She thought to herself from the moments before their escape.

"_Danvers. Whatever you did, you brought me back."_

_Alex held her gun at Maggie's leg, a nonlethal shot if she had to, scared that Lillian was tricking her, that it was some sort of nightmare where she would be taken again. _

"_How do I know it's really you?" Her voice cracked at the question. She saw the changing look in her eye, but wasn't sure._

"_It's me. It's me and I don't know how to prove it to you, I don't know if I can even bring myself to prove it to you because I don't want them taking over my mind again. They can do this then have me do what Jeremiah did to you and I can't live with myself if I did that. It was awful, Alex. I couldn't fight myself, Cadmus inside my brain. I just wanted to break free and help you."_

"_Maggie I-" Alex's voice trailed off. She was hesitant to say it, knowing that it could be a trick, but conflicted since it felt so real._

"_I know. I do too. Let me get you out of here." Maggie shifted her body and Alex rolled off of her. Hesitant at first, Alex knew it was her only chance. _

"_We need a plan. If I remember correctly, there are guards outside waiting to take us. I need to- You have to let me tie you up. Think that you joined us."_

_Alex looked conflicted at Maggie. It really was her, but she could still snap at any second. It could all be a trick to get her to come out with them, disappearing until she showed up. She had been so broken from the past two months and had worked so hard to build herself back up. It was so hard to do so, and she knew that she could be broken yet again. She eventually nodded. She trusted Maggie, and her heart was telling her to follow._

"_Here." Maggie took the rope she somehow had hidden under her Cadmus-issued coat. It was eerily similar to her normal NCPD jacket that Alex had clung on to for the time she was missing. She gently tied Alex's wrists behind her back, careful not to hurt her too much._

_Maggie then took a piece of softer rope and put it around Alex's mouth with an "I'm sorry." She gently pulled her up and walked her out of the prison block._

Maggie shuddered at the memory as she passed the dark sublevels of the cave. Alex and Maggie walked freely, the latter still gripping the gun as Alex rubbed her wrists from the rope. She was ready to shoot anyone that would try and stop her, even if it meant Lillian would pull a switch again.

"Alex!" Kara ran and hugged her sister as soon as she walked into the control room. "I was so worried. Vasquez had called us to tell us that you went missing. That-" She looked at Maggie, ready to fire her heat vision if she had to.

"It's her. Somehow she got knocked out of it for now, but we have to figure out how to get this out."

"I'm sorry, Kara."

"Maggie. I'm so glad- I- Alex wait. Jeremiah."

Alex looked over at her bleeding father, laying restrained in the medbay. She slowly walked over to him and Maggie agreed to have herself cuffed. She went up to him and glared, hints of anger and sadness in her eyes.

"Sweetheart, it's me. I can't trust myself to touch your hand, I can't forgive myself for what I did."

Alex said nothing. She was still hurt from the visions of her father beating her. The man who had always stuck up for her when Eliza had berated her, the one who he always said was his star. Everything was erased since that night. No matter how tough Alex had acted, everyone still knew she was broken.

"Alex it is. We confirmed the neurotransmitters that they had put in were deactivated for now. We still know that Lillian could turn them back on at any second." J'onn had added in when he went to read Maggie's mind. "Maggie isn't under anything too. It's not something hindering her mind. I'd be able to sense them, even in Jeremiah's."

"Maggie, we need to take your blood. They're working to get a cure for this before it's activated again." Kara looked over as Maggie slowly walked to the medbay, unsure that her body was still in control.

"That's fine but you need to keep me restrained." Maggie looked down at her cuffed wrists, not being able to look at Alex in the eyes. She felt Alex's piercing into hers, darting back and forth from herself to Jeremiah. Both of them were hurt, but they also knew it had to be done to end everything.

"We know." Kara looked sympathetically.

J'onn quietly assessed the situation, stood up and pulled Alex aside. He could read her memory, able to tell that she was confused and felt betrayed.

"Alex, are you alright?"

"I don't know."

"I know you're worried. I know you're tired of fighting and tired of whatever Lillian's trying to do. You're feeling broken and betrayed, and like you've lost everything that you trusted, but I assure you though it's going to be alright, okay? We're going to reverse this. Let me clean that wound for you, will you let me do that?"

Alex looked up at J'onn, unshed tears glazing over her eyes. She nodded before opening her mouth to speak. "I don't know what to do. I can't trust them right now, and if she switches them back I don't know if I can bring myself to stop them."

"What you need to do is let us handle it for now. You've been training nonstop and trying so hard to find them and bring them back. You might not believe this now but you did it. They're here, and they're stable and not under Lillian's control right now." J'onn held Alex firmly by the shoulders. He pulled her into a close hug before guiding her towards the medbay to sit down and clean the cut on her head.

Vasquez walked into the room. "Sir, Ma'ams, there's something you need to see." She pulled a flash drive and plugged it into the computer. "Agent Schott found that these neurotransmitters needed another component to create this. It's almost like a virus that they hadn't had prior. He checked the cameras and saw that the real Henshaw broke into L Corp and stole some sort of vile from them. L57 it's called, but we don't know what's in it.."

"So if we're going to reverse this, we need Lena." Kara looked over to J'onn, who gave an affirmative nod.

"I'll grab her. She'll figure it out sooner or later anyway."

Kara took to the skies, the lockdown temporarily disabled so that she could get out. She arrived at L Corp's top office to get to Lena.

"Supergirl, what are you doing here?"

"There's no time to talk. Somehow Alex and I knocked Jeremiah and Maggie out of their brainwashing. Turns out the last time Henshaw broke in, he stole something from you to do it in the first place. Something about L57. But we need it to reverse their effects before Cadmus takes them back again."

Lena's eyes widened at the mention of L57. It was something that she had created to stop Reign and try to neurologically subdue her.

"That's not good at all. L57 was something I created to try and stop Reign. If my mother is putting that into humans with god knows what else, there's no telling what it might be able to do. What do you need me to do? Let me go get it." Lena paced and unlocked her vault, grabbing a small vial.

"Thank you. We have to get to the DEO as soon as possible. I'll fly you there. Are you okay with that?" Kara was nervous thinking about Maggie and Jeremiah. She didn't know how many other Cadmus guards were around them.

"Let's go." Lena wrapped her arms around Kara's shoulders and felt herself being lifted off her feet and up into the air. It only took minutes to reach the cave, but she felt her heart race at the thought of her mother's destruction.

"Everything alright here?" Kara walked back in with Lena, checking immediately on the medbay where Jeremiah and Maggie were laying. Alex was laying down two beds away from them, still staring into space and drifting off to sleep.

"I'm alright. A little sore. You really do pack a punch, Supergirl." Jeremiah had been propped up, a cooling bag on his head.

"J'onn's over there, see if you can help him and Vasquez with the data?" Kara gestured over to the two, and Lena nodded. "Maggie, how are you?"

"I'm alright. It's just… Alex." Maggie looked back over at her girlfriend, now asleep. She knew that if she did, she would break down any second from the pain she caused.

"After you two were taken, it was just a shock. It hurt her too much. She'll come back in time. We just need to make sure you stay this way." Kara managed to give them a soft smile before walking over to Alex. She stroked her hair, praying that there wouldn't be any complications.

An hour passed and there had been moderate progress. Lena had finally synthesized half of the cure, while Winn guided Vasquez on computing Maggie and Jeremiah's bloodstreams into the system for immediate results.

Alex had woken up and started talking to Maggie and Jeremiah, mostly about Kara's cooking or her recent movie binges. It still pained her to talk about anything else, she couldn't yet. Meanwhile, Kara and J'onn kept themselves busy taking down Cadmus guards that were still littered around the DEO base.

As they returned, they were surprised to see Alex smiling with the two. They thought that it would really be over.

"I guess you really didn't think I'd be back for my subjects." The voice echoed in the DEO, sending shivers up everyone's back.

Alex was the first to look up, to hold her gun up. Lena looked up with a glare, Kara's heat vision ready, J'onn ready to erase her mind. Maggie and Jeremiah looked on with worry, still laying down restrained.

"Get the hell out of here."

"You really think that you threaten me? We'll see about that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - So I'm all moved into school, but with homework and classes, chapters still won't be as fast as they had been during the summer. I'm nearing the end of the story though, hopefully you'll like it! Thank you for your continued reads and reviews!


	17. Chase

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know exactly where I want the story to go but I'm having trouble getting it there. Classes are starting to settle down from all of the first week stuff but I'm still going to be slower on updates. This is a shorter chapter, but hopefully my writer's block is done after that and my writing will improve from this chapter. This story should only be a couple more though! Thanks for sticking with me through this story, I hope you like Chapter 17!

"You'll see about that, huh? See when I do this." Alex lunged at Lillian Luthor, a smug grin still on the latter's face, when Kara caught her and pulled her back.

"Alex. Alex!" Kara watched Alex's hands tremble, gun still aimed at her head. She slowly walked in front of Alex, lowering her gun slowly. "Alex, don't. I know how much you want to, how much you want her to pay, but I promise right now you can't do this. You can't."

Lena got up and walked in front of the two. "What the hell did you do to them, _Mother_?" She spat out her words like venom, inching closer to Lillian's face. It was her turn to question her.

"Something that you never would have been able to do. You see, Lena, I know you're siding with the wrong people. Stubborn, almost like your brother in that sense."

"Don't compare me to him."

"But you are. Siding with the wrong people, that is. You should be with me, getting rid of all of these aliens who lie and cheat their way into society."

"Screw you."

"Your side is the one that's screwed." Lillian grabbed her coat and pulled a small device out of it. She turned to Alex. "I told you, if you joined us it would be so much easier. You see, when I click this, it will slowly bring your loved ones back to me. You know, the ones who beat you up and broke you. I mean you said it yourself. Supergirl said it too. This time, they'll feel pain. This time if they don't comply, their minds can shut down at any second and they'll die a slow and painful death. You can't stop me."

"Alex!"

Alex ran away from the scene. Maggie and Jeremiah looked on with shock at the older Luthor, while everyone else switched their eyes between her and Alex.

"Maybe this'll be easier after all." Lillian pressed the button slowly. Lena was wide eyed as she looked onto Maggie and Jeremiah, screaming in pain before becoming emotionless, while Kara and J'onn held their stances. "I know none of you have the guts to kill me or them. I know all of you are weak, you won't do it. We'll get rid of these aliens once and for all. Now go. Find her. We gave her a choice. Now she'll join our cause whether she likes it or not."

Maggie and Jeremiah broke through the restraints with ease and walked towards the direction Alex ran in sync. Kara and J'onn immediately went after the two while Lena stayed back.

"How could you? You know she's not the only one you're hurting. They're my friends. My family. Something you could never be."

"One day you'll realize that you belong on my side. I don't care if it's today or years from now. The fact is that you're a Luthor. You're supposed to fight for aliens to get out of this planet, not to join them."

"But why them? Why Alex?"

"They were the easiest to get and closest people to Alex. Alex is the closest to Supergirl. Simple. Get Alex on our side-"

"We are _not_ on the same team."

"Get Alex on our side and we get Supergirl off our planet. Soon everyone else follows. See? No killing involved. Just getting them out."

Something clicked inside of Lena. "You bitch."

"Lena." Lillian sighed. "That's not the way you should be talking to your mother. If you're so adamant about joining them why don't you go find where they all ran off to? I'll be here unless more of your friends drag me off."

Lena did nothing but glare.

* * *

"Shit, shit, _shit_." Alex cursed as she ran around the cave. She recognized the pairs of footsteps that were inching closer to her, and she knew that her last resort would have to come into play. She ran closer to the mainframe, deep inside the cave. _Why the hell does this go so low?_

"Danvers, stop!"

Alex knew it wasn't Maggie.

Alex saw the finish line. She grabbed a flash grenade from her belt and threw it towards the button that would close the steel doors behind her, sliding right before the flash and doors shut behind her.

"J'onn, Kara."

"Alex, thank god! Where the hell did you go?" J'onn kept running, unable to sense her mind with the psychic dampeners around the cave.

"I'm in the mainframe. We're all about to go dark, I'm shutting down any transmitters, technology, extenders, whatever nonessential things in here that might shut off these things inside of Dad and Maggie. I don't know if it will work though. Either way this ends now. I love you guys."

"Alex. Alex!" Kara heard static before all the lights went dim.

Alex took a deep breath, her back finding comfort on the cold wall. She wasn't sure if shutting everything off was a good idea, let alone if it would help at all. She still had her backup plan though, one she knew she would have to use. _I love you. All of you. No matter what. _Alex thought back to what had happened to her in the past few months. Surviving Reign, getting beaten by her father, put into a coma, Maggie being taken. All of the pain that had shattered her whole world in the past few months, all of the brokenness. She still loved them, she decided.

A loud bang on the door startled Alex out of her thoughts. _Shit_, she thought to herself again. _This didn't work. It's too far into their bloodstreams_.

Another bang.

Alex stood and readied herself to be surrounded by all of the Cadmus guards, Maggie and Jeremiah. When the door finally came down, it was only the two of them.

"Stop running away from us. We're trying to help you."

"We love you, sweetheart. This is what's best for you."

"This isn't you though." Alex stepped forward, her gun aimed towards both of them. "Maggie, dad, listen to me. You're in there somewhere. You can fight this, you can try and get out of it. Do it for me. Do it for Kara, for mom, for everyone who has faith in you. Look at all of our friends, our family. Is this really who you two want to be with? You can't even be yourself."

The familiar flicker in Maggie and Jeremiah's eyes came and left in a second.

"This is who we are now. You said you'd love me no matter what, remember? So, Alex, ride or die with me and your father, or not?"

"You want to play this the hard way? You leave me no choice." Alex ripped a remote out of her belt and held it above her head. "Remember this, dad? It's the same remote I used the day the ship was supposed to go out. There's bombs riddled all over the mainframe. I let go of this button and we all die."

"You'd take Kara and J'onn out with you."

"I won't. They're smarter than that. The question is, are you two? I know the real Maggie Sawyer and Jeremiah Danvers would be, but you cowards? Whoever's behind you? I don't know about them."

"You'd kill us though? I don't even know if you could do that." They were taunting her now.

"Watch me."

With that, Alex let go of the button.


	18. Race Against Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I broke 100 pages on my doc (granted it's double spaced, but who cares!) Thank you for all your continued reading and reviews, it means a lot. With school and homework, I know writing is farther apart than the summer but I'm determined to get this story done (which means I'm not abandoning it!) This is part one of the climax!

Alex ran again.

She knew that the bombs wouldn't hurt her immediately because of Winn's upgraded suit. It was designed to protect blasts like this, even though it would be harder to withstand gunshots.

The bomb was a last resort, something J'onn could sense as soon as the psychic dampeners were turned off. He sensed that Alex wasn't in danger yet, but motioned for Kara to follow him. He heard another explosion that shook the ground.

"Come on, Kara." J'onn was in his martian form now, ready to phase through the walls that would lead him to Alex.

"J'onn, what was that?"

"Alex. She activated bombs in the mainframe. The entire thing's going to blow."

"What about all of the aliens that are locked up?"

"Their cells are made with blast-proof glass and titanium. The system is already running through the one in National City. Everyone knows to evacuate. I'm confident we'll get the two out of here too."

"You guys knew about her plan?"

"I didn't. Apparently Vasquez and a few other agents did. It was a last resort, I'm only sensing it now because the psychic dampeners were turned off when the power went dark. Lena is still with Lillian. If we get them separated we'll get her out of here with us."

"She could be dead before we get everyone out!"

"She won't. She knows better too. Let's go. Alex is this way."

* * *

_Okay. It's here. _Alex was gasping for air as she reached another saferoom. She knew this time the neurotransmitter blockers would be in here. It was the first time she stopped to examine her wounds from the blast, warm liquid covering her left eye. _A headlack is nothing._ She held a cloth up and wiped her eye, rushing to search for the button. A long string of them on different panels were lit up, much to Alex's confusion. She knew one wrong button would detonate the whole cave, save for any of the aliens in the blast-proof cells, taking her and everyone else with it.

She was mere feet inches from the finish line when her father's voice came back. _You can't run away from us forever, Alex. _She couldn't tell if Maggie and Jeremiah were close, or if Lillian was messing with her head again. Now was no time for distractions, as she tried to remember everything J'onn had told her previously. It had been three years since she transferred over to the National City headquarters, and never thought she would have to be inside the cave again.

_Alex._

Alex looked around in paranoia. There was pain to the voice, who she instantly recognized as Maggie.

_Listen to me. I don't know if you can hear me but I do know we don't have much time. You don't even have to believe me, but I know you and you know me. Jeremiah's mind is already compromised, and mine is about to be too. I can hear myself, I know what I'm doing, but I can't control it. I can't fight it, I can't stop Lillian from doing whatever her and her agents are planning. I don't know what will happen within the next few hours but you have to do something now before we all die._

It was all the strength Alex needed to choose a button. She closed her eyes and braced for impact of the bomb, but instead everything went dark.

_So maybe I don't die today._

* * *

Lena jumped as the lights turned off.

"I thought I told you to be braver than a simple light going off. You know your friends will only stop me for a little before poor Alex ultimately turns on you too."

"Shut up."

"It's true though. She'll crack eventually. Or we'll just force her to join us, dead or alive. I can deal with either one, who really cares? I know how to revive people I've killed. Jeremiah and Maggie? They'd be dead without my neurotransmitters on."

"You're bluffing."

"I'm not. You know I'm not either. I can kill them with the push of a button. I told you all that already and yet this Danvers girl still insists she can save the world."

"I'll kill you before you have the chance to do it."

"No you won't." Lillian let out a laugh.

* * *

"J'onn is there any way you can track Alex? I can't hear her heartbeat."

"She's in the mainframe. I can try to phase through."

"I don't know if we'll get there on time. Winn, anything?"

"She shut everything off. Subdermal trackers, neurotransmitters, I can't do anything from here, but from the looks of things Cadmus-brained Maggie and Jeremiah will get there before you guys do." Winn sat back in his chair at the DEO, scared about what would happen to his sisters. James grabbed his shoulder reassuringly, listening to things unfold.

J'onn took Kara by the arms. "This is going to feel weird, but maybe we'll get to her quicker."

* * *

Alex checked her supplies. She had to make sure that she was equipped with enough ammo and restraints to subdue Maggie and Jeremiah if it came down to it. She didn't know if Lillian had somehow bypassed the technology, and knew she'd have her dead otherwise. _One way or another, this is going to end tonight._

It had been over 24 hours since the DEO went into lockdown in the cave. Now the battle and outcome were in Alex's hands. The nightmares that had tormented Alex wouldn't end, she knew that, but if she died tonight and saved her father and girlfriend she would be in peace. It was something she toyed with while she had the time.

She took out her phone and recorded her message.

"To all of my friends and family. Hi." There was a brokenness and tiredness to Alex's voice. "I just have to get this out before this ends. No matter what this is going to end tonight, and it might involve me dying. I want you to know that and accept it. I already have. I wish these could be longer but I have to fight. I have to be ready to face this."

Alex sighed. "First, mom. Mom, you've taught me to be strong after Dad disappeared, after Kara came along, after everything that had happened. We've had our differences but you've done nothing but support me and shape me to who I've become. I can't thank you enough for that.

Winn, James, Lena, you guys have been nothing but brothers and a sister to me. Sure I've had my doubts when I first met you but all of you have been so good to me, and so good to Kara. I know you'll support her when I'm gone. Please take care of her.

J'onn, thank you for being my second father. You've taught me more than anyone ever could have. I've learned to fight, and now I'm taking that to end this. Thank you.

Kara. I know what you'll be thinking. You've protected me so many times, and now it's time for me to do what I can to protect us from Cadmus. This is my fight. You need to keep fighting, even after I'm gone. You've accepted a fate that never came so many times, so let me do this now. Please."

Tears formed up in Alex's eyes. "Dad. I know there's a lot of unsaid things, but I still love you. And I know there's some things that you've done and I know that other people might not be able to forgive you. But I do. There's still good in you, and I know you'll realize that eventually.

And Maggie. You're the love of my life. There are a lot of firsts we didn't have, but I want you to live a full and happy life. You'll always have a family with us, but I hope you move on too. Find someone who loves you as much as I do, and treat her as well as you did to me. Maybe this wasn't the end we wanted but it's the end I'm choosing for you, Maggie. For my family. I love you all and please live a wonderful and full life. If not for yourselves, do it for me. Please."

She hung up her phone, placing it on the console of the mainframe. Alex was ready now for whatever would be coming her way.

As if on cue, there was a loud banging on the door. Alex readied her gun and knew that it was the final battle.

"Let's end this."


	19. A Luthor's Betrayal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't been updating as frequently. School is very busy but now I'm on break! Also to anyone who's watched the first three parts of Crisis on Infinite Earths, what were your thoughts? I'm very excited for the conclusion! Season 5 of Supergirl itself has also been really amazing (I still haven't watched Season 4, so there are a couple of plot points from there that I'm not understanding but mostly I've been able to follow Season 5!) There's a slight Bleach inspiration if you catch it in here (hint: Kaien Shiba), but I'm satisfied with how the ending is going to go. I hope you enjoy this chapter and again, thank you for staying with me!

A loud crash filled the DEO, startling Kara and J'onn from levels away.

"We have to move faster, J'onn. We don't know what we're dealing with still, and Maggie and Jeremiah are already with Alex, I can hear their heartbeats in one place."

"Maggie is in there somewhere. She tried sending a message to Alex, but even with everything disabled something is still controlling them. I don't know if Jeremiah is still there, but somehow he's formed the equivalent of a mind meld to Maggie, and they're able to psychically communicate with Alex."

"So what does that all mean? Can you communicate with them too?"

"I can't, it seems like for me it's a one way thing. I can intercept the messages and hear what Maggie is saying to Alex, but I can't respond to her, and I can't hear what Alex is saying if she's saying anything back. So even if we manage to subdue them, there's little chance we can get him back, and if we don't make it on time, we won't be able to get Maggie back either."

At that moment, the realization settled in on both J'onn and Kara. There was a chance that only one person could make it out alive after the battle.

* * *

Lena and Lillian were still in a standoff. "You know that your friends here aren't that smart. Alex might have turned off all of the technology in the whole world, she could have turned all of the psychic inhibitors on and activated whatever she wanted to, and it still wouldn't free Maggie and Jeremiah of their mind control."

"What do you mean?"

Lillian pulled the neck of her shirt back, revealing a small device that was just below her left shoulder. "It's fused into my skin. Even if the switch in my hand broke, even if you destroyed all of the technology that's on me, they're still under my control. The only way you turn it off is if you kill me. Supergirl doesn't kill, J'onn doesn't, and Alex is going to be too weak to do so once they're done with her."

"What if I just cut it out of you?"

"That still wouldn't work." Lillian sneered, smoothing out her shirt. "This device is pumping cells into my body as we speak. I told all of you there could have been an easy way, but you collectively decided to make it more difficult for yourself. Even if you were to remove it, there would still be millions of cells multiplying in my body. I can control them however I want, and if you all are still acting like brats I'll just put an end to all of their misery. Jeremiah's already fully succumbed to it, it's a matter of hours before Maggie will be too. Either way, Team Supergirl loses."

"So if Supergirl let Alex kill you in the first place, this would have all been over?"

"Lena, you still don't get it. It's not that simple."

* * *

_This is it_, Alex thought to herself. Maggie and Jeremiah were standing before her again, their eyes dark. She was ready to save them, whatever it took to do so. She decided on defense tactics, so that she wouldn't have to resort to lethal measures to kill them.

Maggie was the first to lunge at Alex. She managed to kick Alex down in the first swing, while Alex rolled out of her way before another kick could be delivered. Alex jumped up before dodging another one of Jeremiah's punches.

The fight had continued like this, with Alex attempting to evade every attack Maggie and Jeremiah had tried to place on her, save for a few blows. Alex knew she couldn't hold them off for much longer, but there had to be some way to save them. She had one more idea that she thought of, but it was going to be a risk to all three of them. Still, this was a battle that had to be done alone.

About ten minutes had passed when Kara and J'onn finally arrived. Alex glanced over and looked in shock.

"No!" Alex yelled and reached for another button, effectively knocking Kara into a forcefield as she tried to speed into the fight.

"Alex!"

"This is my battle. I know, we're stronger together but please Kara, you have to understand that I need to finish this alone, no matter the outcome."

J'onn looked onto the fight before glancing down.

"J'onn, can't you do anything? Phase us through, something? They'll kill her!"

The martian was conflicted before speaking. "Alex is fighting for her honor. If we were to step in and help her, even if we managed to save Jeremiah and Maggie, it will still come to a great cost to Alex. I know it's risky, but she needs to do this alone for her own sanity, Kara."

Kara looked on, still trying to slam on the forcefield. "She's going to die, J'onn. We have to save my sister."

"Just wait. If things get serious we'll find a way to step in, but for now, I'm telling you Kara, she _has_ to fight alone."

"How much time do we have before the cave blows?"

"Two hours. Vasquez and the others have gotten all of the surviving Cadmus members and they're all moved to the National City headquarters. The only people I can sense here are us five, Lena and Lillian."

"Lena's still in here?"

"We'll find a way to get her out before then."

More time went by as Alex still tried to defend herself. She was bleeding heavily in her mouth, being punched a few times. Kara and J'onn still watched on intently.

Suddenly, Jeremiah had knocked Alex down and pinned her to the ground, punching her in the stomach repeatedly. Kara started slamming on the forcefield again in horror, and J'onn was ready to phase through. At the sight, Maggie somehow paused, looking on emotionless. It was almost like she was holding herself back.

Alex tried to speak, flashbacks of the past couple of months all coming back. She still had hope, a strength she learned from everyone rallying around her for so long. "You have to stop this. I know you two are still in there somewhere, even if your brains are compromised forever." She coughed at the next blow to her stomach. "I love you both so much, I still forgive you for everything."

Alex looked over to J'onn. _J'onn, if you hear me right now, I need you to phase us back to the medbay. You should be able to phase into the forcefield. Do it quickly._

J'onn nodded, grabbed Kara, and phased through as Alex asked. He held onto the four people and flung himself upwards.

Lena was startled at the sight of the five of them appearing next to her. Jeremiah still had a grip on Alex, when J'onn grabbed him and flung him backwards.

Alex got up and grabbed two syringes that were on the table. They were the two cures for Maggie and Jeremiah, though they were both unfinished. She flung the one with an M to Kara, who injected it into Maggie's neck. Maggie collapsed into Kara's arms, slowly coming to her senses.

"Let's hope this works." Alex muttered to herself before readying herself. She was limping now, her shirt and face soaked in blood.

Alex and Jeremiah ran towards each other at the same time, while Lena, Lillian and J'onn looked on.

A scream was the only noise filling up the cave. Kara jerked her head to the direction seeing Alex collapsed on top of Jeremiah, the syringe in his neck.

Everyone widened their eyes at the sight of Jeremiah's enhanced hand in Alex's stomach. Kara got up in horror, placing Maggie down near Jeremiah and rushing to Alex's side.

"Alex, Alex stay with me." Kara held pressure onto Alex's stomach as the older Danvers coughed.

"I'm fine. It missed my internal organs, from what I could tell. Get Lillian."

Kara looked over at the older Luthor, who was still smirking. She grabbed her and slammed her against the wall, stepping on the remote that fell out of her hands.

"You've done enough damage. Now tell us how to turn this off. Answer me!"

Lillian looked at Kara. "You can't."

Alex stumbled as she got up, dragging herself to Jeremiah and Maggie. J'onn rushed to Alex's side, helping her get to them. The three of them were all weak, Alex from the injuries and Maggie and Jeremiah from the mind control.

"Alex, listen to me, there's not much time." Jeremiah looked over at Lillian before looking back at his daughter. "I've been under this mind control thing for much longer than Maggie has. Those neurotransmitters, they're embedded into my brain. You can get them out of Maggie's system, but you can't save me."

"No, Dad. Don't say that. There's always a way, and we're going to save you."

"The cure wasn't finished. This past fight has weakened me enough for it to even bring me back, but only for a little while. If they shut off, they'll kill me. If they stay on, I'll become sentient, Lillian programmed it for me to destroy anything in my path. I'll wind up killing you, killing Kara, your mother. You have to let me go."

"I can't."

"You know, I'd hate to break this family reunion, but as I told Lena, you can't shut it off. Not without killing me. So instead, you get to watch them die."

With that, Maggie and Jeremiah instantly began to scream. The neurotransmitters in their system were slowly destroying their bodies from the inside out. Kara was wide-eyed, conflicted. She knew this was Lillian's failsafe, as she knew Kara wouldn't kill anyone, regardless of what they've done.

J'onn looked onto Kara and Lillian as a gunshot rang out. Lillian looked down, seeing a pool of blood to seep into her shirt.

Everyone slowly turned their heads when they saw the source of the gunfire. Kara let go, letting Lillian fall to the ground. Lena had shot her mother right through her chest.

"Like Kara said, you've done enough damage. Not only did you destroy whatever _little _remaining love I had for you, you tried to get my best friend off of this planet, hurt my friends, no, you hurt my _family_. Goodbye, Mother."

Lillian looked at her daughter, her breathing becoming shallow. She let out a strangled laugh, coughing up blood. "I commend you, Lena. I guess I was wrong, you really aren't like your brother. He wouldn't have the guts to kill me. Your side has won, _for now_." Lillian closed her eyes, letting out her last breath.

It took a minute for a stunned Kara to register the weight of what Lena had just said. She figured out that she was Supergirl. She still called her her best friend. Her _family_.

Jeremiah and Maggie sighed in temporary relief. The former looked over at Lillian's lifeless body and then to Maggie. "Alex, you need to get them going on the cure for Maggie."

Maggie just chuckled, still weak. "Lena Luthor and the Danvers family saving the day again."

J'onn looked up. "I just contacted Winn to work on finishing the cure. But before all of this, we need to get you _all_ out of here. The cave is going to blow in ten minutes."

Kara looked back at Lena. " Lena, do you-"

"No, leave her here. I don't ever want to see _that_ again."

Kara and J'onn both nodded. The former took Lena and Maggie while J'onn took Alex and Jeremiah.

* * *

As soon as the six landed, Maggie, Jeremiah and Alex were placed on medical beds. Alex had her wounds cleaned and treated. Thankfully Winn and Dr. Hamilton had been working on a field medication that would speed the recovery of an agent. This made Alex's head wounds virtually disappear, while her stab wound was brought down to a minor scratch. Maggie was rushed to one bed to get the cure into her bloodstream, while Jeremiah had an IV placed into him in the other bed. He screamed in pain, knowing that the neurotransmitter cells in his body were starting to shut down. Dr. Hamilton was doing everything to help with the cure for him, but no one knew what to do.

"Dad, we're going to find a way to save you, just hold on."

Jeremiah let out a soft chuckle through the pain. "As much as I hate to admit it, Lillain was half of what was keeping me alive. I was connected to her life through these damn cells. Now that she's gone, which I'm happy that she is, I can die in peace."

"No, you can't. We just got you back." Alex grabbed his hand, starting to cry. Kara stood next to Alex, slowly stroking her hair. Lena and Maggie looked on as the family started to say their goodbyes.

"Honey, there's no way to save me now. These cells are what makes my entire body now. They're starting to die, and once they're completely dead, I'll be too. The other half of what kept me alive was you. Remember when I said you were always the best part of me? You're the reason I could even keep my humanity. You, Kara, your mother. You guys are the epitome of what makes us stronger together."

Alex looked down, finally coming to terms with what was happening. "So now what do we do?"

"I'm going to die with honor and with my two daughters beside me. You saved me, and I'll be watching over my girls." He glanced over at Maggie, Lena and J'onn. "Maggie, thank you for everything you've done for both of my daughters. I don't know if Alex could have ended up with anyone better. Remember what we discussed, when the time is right. Lena, thank you for the courage you must have needed to end this. And J'onn, you've kept your promise all of these years. Be the father figure you have been for all the years that I've missed. I know you'll keep your promise. All of you, take care of both of them." He coughed, his body getting heavier.

Both Alex and Kara were crying now, watching Jeremiah slowly succumb to his injuries. "Tell your mother I love her, and that if we meet again I'll make up all of these lost years, all of the pain I caused. I love you all. I'm sure I'll see you again one day."

He gave one last squeeze to Alex and Kara before drifting away.

Everyone sat in silence for what seemed like hours. Finally, Maggie spoke. "Alex."

Alex got up slowly. She wiped the tears off of her face and pulled Maggie into a deep kiss. "I've missed you so much. I love you, I love you, I love you."

"I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere. Not anymore." She pulled Alex into a deeper hug. Both of them were crying for a different reason now. "You saved us all, Alex. You've been fighting for so long, and you've been so strong this whole time. Now it's time for you to let go. I love you, Alex Danvers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's still at least two chapters coming, and I do hope to have it done by New Years (though work has been slamming me with hours since I've come home). I was going to split this into two chapters but I think you all deserve the big conclusion of this in one after a long wait. When first creating the story, I always envisioned that Jeremiah and Lillain were going to die, though I'm sure this could have come off as a surprise to all of you. Again, I'm so grateful for all of you who have stuck with this and appreciate all of the reviews and feedback. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I can't wait to share a spin-off of one shots I'll do and the conclusion to this. So, again, thank you so much!


	20. Amends

It had been a couple of hours since Jeremiah's passing. Alex was fast asleep in Maggie's arms as the latter had more tests run, was given more medication to ensure that all of the neurotransmitters were filtered out of her body. J'onn talked to Winn and Lena about making sure the new cure was readily available in case any Cadmus agents had more access, and a way to deactivate and destroy any remaining L57 she had in her office.

James had arrived with Eliza to see Alex, and J'onn explained everything to them. Eliza silently cried over the death of her husband, but still knew that she had to be there for Alex and Kara. She was glad that he had made amends before he had died, and wasn't angry for not being there when he did.

Kara stood watching over the city. It had been the place she had sat so many times in the past few months, wishing everything that had happened to her family would end. Finally there had been a conclusion, though there was great cost to it.

She hadn't bothered changing out of her Supergirl uniform, now that she discovered Lena had known her identity. She had many questions running through her head on how long she knew, how she found out, who told her, though she knew she had to focus on her sister and family healing right now.

"Looking for company?"

Kara looked behind her, giving the youngest Luthor a soft smile before looking down at the ground. "Lena, hi."

Lena crossed her arms, but still gave Kara a warm smile. "Hi Kara."

"So…" Her voice trailed off. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, I don't even know where to start." Kara looked up at Lena, tears starting to form in the corner of her eyes. "The reason I didn't tell you was because I was scared, I was scared about how you would think of me as Kara, not as Supergirl. I know there had been a lot of rough patches between us lately with you hiding Sam and-" Lena stopped Kara with a strong hug.

"Kara. It's okay." She rested her chin on the crook of Kara's shoulders. "I'm not angry."

"How long?"

"When my mother and I were alone, after you went to go find Alex, she said something about if she got Alex to turn to Cadmus you'd get off the planet. I realized, and it clicked."

"So she didn't tell you? And you're not mad at me for not saying anything?" Kara pulled back from Lena and looked her in the eyes, now crying fully. "I've been wanting to tell you for the longest time and I know you don't like to be lied to. Lena, I've been lying to you this whole time. Our whole friendship."

"Hey hey, Kara, it's okay." Lena pulled her back into a hug and slowly stroked her back. "Look, we have a lot we'll need to talk about, and I do have a lot of questions, but no, I'm not angry. The circumstances under how I found out weren't the best. If anything, it should be me apologizing for what my mother has done to Alex. To your family. She killed your father."

"We can't change that now, as much as I'd want to." Kara was still stunned at the response. "So you're still my friend?"

"I'm a little offended if you think we're not still best friends." Lena let out a small chuckle. "I don't know how I can make it up to your family for everything my mom did. As messed up as it sounds, I'm glad she's gone."

"You already have. You're not angry with me, you had the courage to do something none of us could do. You gave Alex more time with Maggie, time before Jeremiah died. And Lillian was right about one thing. You're nothing like your family." It was Kara's turn to pull Lena into a hug.

"Yeah, you're right."

* * *

Three days later, Maggie was finally released from the DEO medbay.

As soon as Maggie was released, Alex, Maggie, Kara and Eliza headed back to Midvale. They held a small funeral for Jeremiah, burying him in the Danvers Family Plot they had bought ages ago. It was a time to honor him for turning back onto the good side, as well as a time for Eliza to adjust to living back at home. Though it was only intended to be a Danvers family affair, going back to Midvale to bury him, James, Lena, J'onn and Winn all decided to accompany them.

At the Danvers' house, the gang had thrown a celebration for the whole family, Maggie included. It had been a celebration of the months that had come and gone, and the suffering was finally over. Alex and Maggie were slowly getting back into their normal routines, with them going back to work a week later. For the next month, Kara and J'onn had taken turns searching all of National City for any sign of Cadmus or signs of villains kidnapping Alex or Maggie. She felt that even if she was overreacting, they had gone through enough.

Alex still had the thought of proposing in the back of her mind, but figured she should settle in with Maggie and recover for a little before trying again. She still had all of the decorations in a cardboard box, stuffed in the back of her closet from when Maggie had cleaned up after she was put into a coma. She still thought back to that night it all began, wondering how things could have panned out differently if she hadn't gone to the bar that night. Over three months and everything would never be normal again.

Alex had gone back to the bar a couple of times with Maggie, now always carrying the watch Winn created for her and her gun. Though the DEO now stayed around to always have someone protecting it, it had still made Alex and Maggie both shudder walking through the doors.

It had been late November when Alex came back from the bar alone. She opened the door to a familiar setting, soft light created by cinnamon-scented candles, a bottle of tequila on the table with two glasses, roses scattered around the apartment.

Alex placed her gun on the mantle. "Maggie?"

"Just in time." She heard Maggie's voice coming from the bathroom.

"What is all of this?"

Maggie opened the bathroom door wearing her suit from Valentine's Day. "Well, we almost died. Both of us. This year, we've been through hell, we've both been through more hurt than we could imagine." She walked over to Alex and put her thumbs through her belt loops, closing the gap between their bodies.

"Yeah, we have." Alex smiled.

"And I've been thinking about it a lot. How when you were in that coma if I could imagine myself with anyone else. If I could imagine myself living without you, and I've come to the conclusion that I can't. We both know with our jobs that our lives aren't guaranteed, and that's just a given for the work we're both in. That's the nature of the job. But god Danvers, I can't live another second without you by my side forever."

"So what are you saying?" Alex turned her head and smiled, giving her a joking side eye.

Maggie pulled away and knelt down, pulling a maroon box out of her jacket. "I'm saying that as each day goes by after all of the hell we've been through, I want to spend my life every single day with you. I want you to be my Ride or Die forever, and I want to make up for all of the time we've lost from all of this. So, what I'm trying to say is, Alexandra Caroline Danvers, will you marry me?" Maggie was tearful now, thinking back to the past couple of months. She gave her signature smile, dimples and all. She opened the box with the ring, a simple band with two smaller diamonds surrounding a bigger one.

"Yes. Absolutely yes." Alex held her ring finger up and let Maggie slide on the ring, and then pulled her into a deep kiss. "But."

"But?"

Alex walked over to her nightstand and pulled out the ring that she had been keeping in her drawer since August. "The night everything happened, I wanted to do the same thing. I've done a lot of reflecting, a lot of talking to Kara, a lot of feelings had surfaced before all of this happened. And like you, a lot of feelings came when I almost lost you. I couldn't do anything for myself, and that just goes to show how much I wanted you in my life too. So let me ask you too, to be fair, will _you_ marry me Margarita Elena Sawyer?" The ring was similar to her own, except it was a double band with the diamond's bezel connecting the two.

"Well I hope so, considering you're going to marry me now."

They both chuckled, wrapping their arms around each other.

* * *

Time had passed with the two newly engaged women talking on the couch, sipping their tequila. They had talked about the past few months' events more, trying to decide what the best way of honoring Jeremiah would be.

"I know you want something small to honor him, but he was the one who told me if I love you, to put a ring on your finger. I think that should say something."

Alex turned to look at Maggie. "You know, I was thinking about it, and before my Dad died, he said 'remember what we discussed when the time is right.' You were talking about proposing to me, weren't you?"

Maggie leaned back into the chair. "You know, even though we weren't in control of our bodies, I was able to talk to your dad. About if we ever escaped or were freed. J'onn explained it as kind of a psychic bond between us. I learned a lot about your father, we had to pass the time some way when we were just sitting there lifeless. I still feel like he's in me. Like we're still bonded. He knew my whole plan, and I kind of figured it out then why the apartment was all dressed up."

"I guess you really didn't have time to think about all of that after everything happened."

"Not really, no. All I thought about was the possibility of losing the woman I love. I didn't really think about what you were trying to do, I was just so worried about you dying."

Alex kissed Maggie's forehead. "There's no more worrying about that."

Maggie smiled. "I guess not. We have our whole lives ahead of us now, all those lifetimes of first, and I don't know what to think. We've gone through so much, I know all of us are saying that. But god Danvers, if I had to live without you I don't know what I'd do."

"I was thinking about that. All that time in the cave, I was trying to do anything to save you and dad. I didn't care if I died, but I guess now that I'm thinking about it if you didn't make it out alive I could say the same thing. You know, I left a message too if I didn't make it. I wanted you to move on, to be happy if I wasn't there."

"I don't know if I'd be able to do that. I'd probably become shut off, or bury myself in work. Even thinking about that makes me shudder."

"Yeah. I'm just glad you're here, with me." Alex wrapped her arm around Maggie.

A frantic knock had pulled Alex and Maggie out of their cuddling.

Alex walked over to the door, holding her gun out. She looked through the peephole, before opening the door to her sister holding grocery bags.

"Kara?"

"Little Danvers, you look like you got hit by a happy ray."

Kara walked in dropping the bags off on the table. She started to pace. "I'm sorry to drop in on your little post-engagement celebration, congrats by the way, but I forgot to tell you something important."

"What is it?" Alex started to look concerned.

"Lena knows. And she's not angry."

Alex smiled. "That's great to hear. Now what's with the grocery bags?"

Kara smiled back. "Well, I thought now that she knows, and she's now officially one of the Superfriends, what's a better way to celebrate that and your engagement than a Danvers-style game night?"

Alex turned to look at Maggie, who shrugged. "Bring them in, I can start calling-"

"Well I hope you would say yes, because they're already here." Kara skipped to the door and opened it. "Come on in guys!"

Lena, J'onn, James, Winn and Eliza all walked in carrying different snacks, drinks and games. They exchanged congratulations with the newly-engaged couple before sitting down in rounds of Cards Against Humanity.

A few hours into the night, Alex looked around. Everyone was smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves.

She held Maggie a little closer, took the sight in and smiled. She thought to herself, _this is what family should look like._


	21. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will be pretty fluffy and somewhat cliche. I apologize in advance, but I wanted to make sure that you all know that Alex's future is going great. Again, thank you all for sticking with me, and I hope you like the ending. Stay tuned for some one-shots with Alex, Maggie and the Sanvers kids!

It had been ten years since Jeremiah's death. A noble death, proving himself to save his daughters and future daughter-in-law. Even after all of the bad things that had happened to her, Alex still honored her father. The one who protected her the day he died. He was buried in the Danvers' family grave in Midvale, something he always wanted. Alex was still relieved that he wouldn't be buried as a criminal, or with Cadmus somewhere in an unmarked grave. She made a point to take off work to visit his grave at least once a month. It was something Maggie respected, and would sometimes join her for.

Kara and Maggie were still close from their time bonding during Alex's coma. They'd get together by themselves sometimes, much to Alex's jealousy. Even though they were busy with their own lives again, with their own people, that time was still a moment that changed their relationship. One they'd never forget.

Alex and Maggie finally had their big gay wedding New Year's Day, 2020. Even with it being rushed, and the same fight as they had, band or DJ (they chose the DJ), it was a beautiful ceremony and reception. Alex wore a custom white kevlar dress with boots and Maggie wore a white suit. J'onn still walked Alex down the aisle while Winn walked Maggie. Kara was asked to be both Alex and Maggie's best woman, but instead decided to officiate the wedding. Even through all of their hardships, it was a date that they both wanted. Something to look forward to, to heal them. While her father was always going to be a big part of her memories, her family, that past year, it was a new year focusing on them. No matter how much he hurt Alex, it was her intention to always honor him.

Two years into their marriage, Alex and Maggie finally decided that they were ready to have their first baby. While the former would be the one to carry the child, Lena was able to create something that could combine the two women's DNA. They decided together that their children would carry Maggie's last name. Maggie wanted Alex to know that she was all in when the subject of kids came up again, and she beamed at the idea of them holding Sawyer as their last name. On November 3rd, 2022, a beautiful baby girl was born that they named Jamie Eliza Sawyer. It was a name that would honor both of Alex's parents, causing Eliza to be in awe when she first held her.

While Alex was pregnant, Maggie had been promoted to captain of the NCPD Science Division after her former captain retired. Alex was still co-director of the DEO, but stepped back as a field agent and instead opted to direct missions from the DEO Headquarters instead. This gave them both opportunities to be safer and to be fully involved in Jamie and any future child's upbringing. It gave them the ability to go to any of their school concerts, dances or anything else that life threw at them.

Kara was thriving as both Supergirl and the head reporter at CatCo. There had been a run-in with Lex Luthor while Clark was off-world, as well as the Crisis of 2019 right before the wedding, but otherwise there were no huge enemies since Cadmus was defeated again. Aside from small alien threats and robberies, it was peaceful. As the head reporter, she often ran stories on alien equality and other vigilantes that had started to appear. She gained a following that caused CatCo's stocks to soar.

Kara and Lena talked about their differences, and Kara apologized to her for keeping Supergirl's secret for so long. Lena understood where the superhero was coming from to keep the secret from her, but asked her to not lie again. Kara agreed and the two made up. Eventually, their relationship grew closer and they decided to start a family of their own. They had two kids, Calvin Luthor Danvers, named after Kal-El, and Alexander Kiernan Danvers, named after Alex and Lena's birth mother's surname. Though Lena didn't want Luthor anywhere in either boy's name, Kara had insisted on using it for their firstborn.

Cal was a year younger than Jamie. He seemed to pick up Clark's calm demeanor, though he had bared a striking resemblance to Lena with jet black hair and icy blue eyes. On the other hand, Alex, who was two years younger than Cal had mimicked both the appearance and personality of Kara, with lighter hair and the widest smile. Kara had suggested Alexander for Lena as well, to honor the good parts of her brother. Both Alex and Clark had beamed at their namesakes, and the boys seemed to pick up on it too.

Kara still had sister nights with Alex and Maggie on Tuesdays, but on Thursdays it was their designated family night. Them plus Lena would order takeout with their kids and would talk about everything that had happened throughout the week. Sometimes James, Winn and J'onn would stop over too, and the kids always loved seeing their uncles and surrogate grandfather.

Near the five year anniversary of Jeremiah's death, Alex and Maggie talked about having another child. Jamie was almost three now and they both wanted a sibling for her, and another cousin for the boys. They were all growing up too fast, especially Jamie in their eyes. She had the striking image of Maggie, yet had Alex's temperamental personality and demeanor. It must have been nurture versus nature they had thought. This time, Maggie asked Alex if she could carry the child. Even though Alex was the one to suggest another kid, there was something about Maggie being pregnant that made her stunning. It made her love her more than she ever thought she could, and each night she would cuddle up with her, telling her how great a mom she's going to be. How they both are.

On April 10th, 2026 Evan Karmen Sawyer was born. He was named after Evan Sullivan, the person who inspired Maggie to become a police officer, and helped her get on her feet after leaving her aunt. Karmen, or Kar-El as Kara had said, was named after Kara. He had dark reddish-brown hair, a structured jawline and green eyes. There was no mistake that this was Alex's son, though Maggie shined through as well. Of course, Evan had Maggie's personality, and was the calmer of the two kids. While Jamie and Little Alex would be climbing up trees or going up and starting conversations with people, Cal and Evan would be taking a nap or drawing. All four parents laughed at the polar opposites, noting that Jamie and Alex were definitely the ones to cause trouble when school started.

* * *

Alex sat on the balcony of Eliza's Midvale home. Her legs dangled between the bars of the railing, and watched the sunset. Ten years since everything happened, the death of her father, and now she's living her dream life. She thought she wouldn't survive the coma, then losing Maggie to Cadmus, then the bombs. Against all odds, she did. She knew somehow, with the help of Maggie, that her father was watching over her, Kara and Eliza, making sure all of his family were happy.

Tiny hands touched Alex's shoulders, taking her out of her thoughts, followed by a bear hug that tackled her to the ground.

"Mommy! Me, Jamie and Mama made you food!" Jamie and Evan were now 7 and 3, with Evan turning

Alex smiled and looked up at Maggie. "You guys did? What did you make?"

"Pizza!"

Alex gasped dramatically. "You know I can't say no to pizza! Do you want to know what else I can't say no to?"

"What?"

"A big, slobbery kiss!" Alex scooped Jamie and Evan up in her arms and started to alternate between kissing their cheeks and laughing.

Maggie smiled at the sight of her wife playing with the two kids. She thought to herself that ten years really did fly by, and didn't know that she would be living this life either. Sometimes she would talk to Jeremiah in her dreams, which was somehow a prospect of them still being bonded from Cadmus. Through there, she'd hear stories about Alex as a kid, and things that he wanted to tell her.

The first time Maggie told Alex her interaction with Jeremiah, she was confused as to how it could happen. Now she takes each time as a blessing; the ability to still communicate with her father was something beautiful.

Maggie chuckled, knowing that she would get a visit in her dreams tonight, the night of his death. Alex knew it too, and though the anniversary stuck in the back of her head, she knew she had her father's blessings to make the memories of the day the best of it.

Maggie walked over to Alex and the kids, joining on the tickling that wound up in a kiss between the two wives.

"Ewww!" Evan and Jamie said at the same time, covering their eyes.

Maggie and Alex just looked at each other and laughed, before going to kiss their kids cheeks again. They were a happy family, using everything that Jeremiah taught to honor his memory, and to show how much love they had.

And this, Alex thought, was her road to healing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't intend for a Supercorp ship but I put it in because I wanted Kara to be with a family of her own (for cousins!) It's not that I don't support it, but I don't think I've watched the scenes over as much as I should to understand the relationship (I still think Supercorp is cute though they do balance each other out from what I watch, though season 5 is making me sad).
> 
> Again, thank you for all of your support, kudos, reviews, and everything in between. This isn't the end of this Alex and Maggie's story, and I hope you'll like the little oneshots of the kids!


End file.
